


Everything Hurts

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Whump, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 06:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 51,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20849363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: A different hurt/comfort prompt every day in October as part of Whumptober2019. Stories will either be McDanno relationship, pre-slash or friendship.All prompts now published: Embrace, Recovery, Numb, Beaten, Ransom, Abandoned, Fist Fight, Secret Injury, Bleeding Out, Hallucination, Fever, Trembling, Breathless, Muffled Scream, "Stay with me", Pinned Down, Scars, Tear-stained, Adrenaline, "Don't Move", Stitches, Unconscious, Shackled, Stab Wound, Isolation, Dragged Away, Gunpoint, Human Shield, Delirium, Explosion and Shaky Hands.





	1. Shaky Hands

Danny had no choice but to run. 

The combination of a freakishly cold winter and the familiar Hawaiian rain showers resulted in cold water soaking into his sweater as he ran down the driveway. He actually shivered as he stepped onto the porch and a small pang of homesickness passed through him. It wasn’t exactly the same. The place hadn’t come to a standstill from three feet of snow, but it was the closest thing he had ever got to it since moving to the Island. 

He let himself into the McGarrett home without knocking. With one arm hugging a salad bowl to his chest and a case of longboards gripped in his other hand, he managed to manoeuver the key into the lock through years of practice. Pushing the door hard with his hip, the door swung open and he stepped inside. 

“Yo!” He waited for a response and then frowned. All the lights were off and the lack of response was unexpected. Twisting his neck to look back out the front he confirmed Steve’s car was still parked in the driveway. “Steve?” He called again. 

He dropped the food and drink down into the kitchen, peering out into the back yard as he did so to check his friend wasn’t outside. The rain was still coming down in sheets and Danny wasn’t expecting to find Steve out in that. He was an idiot but he wasn’t that much of an idiot. The last place he checked was the garage and raised an eyebrow when his eyes fell upon the large empty space where the Marquis usually sat. 

“Where the hell are you?” He muttered as he typed out a message on his phone. With only a few days to go until Christmas, Steve had invited everyone around for a team meal. Everyone was bringing something to eat or drink whilst Steve had promised to cook a ham for everyone. There had definitely not been a ham in the oven when he’d passed through the kitchen and everyone was expected to arrive in the next few minutes. People weren’t going to be happy. It was like Thanksgiving all over again.

Voices and a knock at the door caught his attention and Danny jogged back into the living room. Tani and Junior wore matching smiles when Danny opened the door. Like him, they were laden with containers of food. Tani had a bottle of wine tucked under each arm and there was another cooler of food at their feet. 

Something in his expression made Tani frown. “Everything okay? Where’s the boss?”

“Good question,” Danny replied as he stepped back to let them in. “Both Steve and the promised ham are MIA.”

“That’s not like him,” Junior said, the usual concern for his role model evident on his terrible poker face. 

Danny checked his phone for replies and rang his friend’s phone when he saw that there hadn’t been one. The call went to voicemail. 

“When was the last time you heard from him?” Tani asked. 

“Yesterday,” Danny replied with a sigh. He dialled again and pressed the phone to his ear. “He wouldn’t shut up about the damned glaze for the ham”. Voicemail again. 

“Should we be tracking his phone or calling HPD?”

Danny tried to ignore the ball of worry that was suddenly churning in his belly. The last time he’d felt that was when Steve had been kidnapped by Wo Fat. “Look, the Marquis’s gone from the garage. He probably took it out, broke down and his cell died waiting for a tow truck.” 

Tani and Junior looked back at him sceptically. Yeah, Danny didn’t believe himself either. 

“I’ll go back to the office and try and track his cell.” Tani offered, handing the food over to Danny and digging in her back pocket for her car keys. “It won’t take long, no-one’s out driving in this weather.”

Not long after Tani had backed out of the driveway, another car pulled in. Duke Lukela and his wife climbed out of the car and rushed across the front yard to avoid getting soaked through. 

“Duke, Nalani,” Danny greeted them both. 

“What’s going on?” Duke asked, noticing the worried expressions and the pile of food in the entranceway. 

“We can’t find Steve, he’s not answering his phone,” Danny explained. “Tani’s gone over to the Palace to try and trace his cell.”

Duke frowned deeply. “Oh dear,” He added the platter of food he’d been holding to the pile by his feet and straightened up. “I saw him this morning, he was fine then.”

“What time was that?”

“About 10. We bumped into each other at the market.”

“And he left in the Marquis?”

Duke nodded, “I was there picking up some last-minute food supplies for an old PD friend of mine. He’s mostly housebound and I help out where I can. Except I got a call from Carrie saying she’d blown a tire and was out in the rain on her own. Steve offered to drop off the food for me so I could go rescue my daughter,” He explained and handed over his friend’s address on a scrap of paper he pulled out of his wallet. 

“Okay,” Danny turned to Junior, “The two of us are going to go retrace his journey,” Junior nodded sharply. Danny knew the younger SEAL would do anything for Steve. “Duke, do you mind staying here in case he comes back? Tell the others what’s going on when they arrive too.”

“Of course. The two of us will start sorting out the food too. I expect you’ll find him safe and sound...and hungry.” 

Danny thanked the older man with a shoulder squeeze before making the short but wet trip back to the Camaro, Junior on his heels. 

*************

The rain was coming down so hard they had to drive agonisingly slowly through the streets of Honolulu, Junior’s nose almost pressed up against the glass. 

So engrossed in their search. they both jerked in surprise at the sound of Junior’s phone going off. Junior showed Danny the screen displaying Tani’s name before answering the call for them both to hear. 

“Anything?” Danny asked. 

“Sorry,” Tani replied, “I’m not getting anything, it’s probably turned off.”

Except Danny knew that Steve never turned his phone off and he was normally prepared enough to not leave the house without enough battery. He’d told Danny off a few times for that. 

“Where was the last place it pinged?”

There was a pause as Tani worked the computer table Danny knew she was standing at. “On the 83 just outside of Waikane.”

Danny and Junior glanced at each other, “That’s the road we’re on. Steve was doing a favour for Duke this morning and headed this way,” Junior filled her in. 

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m really getting worried now, this isn’t like him,” Tani admitted. “I’m going to loop in HPD, get a few more eyes out looking for him.”

“Okay,” Danny agreed, “Stay and co-ordinate from there, call in Jerry if you need a hand.”

“Will do.”

With a nod from Danny, Junior hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket. 

“You think something has happened to him?” He asked. 

“If it were anyone else I'd say we were blowing things out of proportion but that man is a trouble magnet.”

Whenever something happened to Steve, his first thoughts were always of Grace and Charlie and how the hell he was supposed to tell them something had happened to their favourite uncle. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and forced the dark thoughts from his mind. It didn’t do Steve any good to dwell on them when he should be finding his best friend.

Down a quiet stretch of road, something on the tarmac caught his eye and he pressed his foot down onto the break so harshly Junior was thrown forward and only held back by the seatbelt. 

“What? What is it?”

Danny climbed out of the car, ignoring the rain as he zeroed in on the broken glass he had spotted. Leading up to it was a set of skid marks that had to be recent. Accompanying the road markings and glass was a feeling in his gut that wasn’t going away. He scanned the area, looking for a sign that Steve had been there. Something definitely didn’t feel right.

“Come on!” Junior shouted through the downpour “We need to keep going!”

Danny sighed and pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. He knew Junior was right and reluctantly returned to the car. 

Another thirty minutes passed before the phone rang again. This time it was Duke. 

“Duke! Is he there?”

“Sorry Danny, no sign of him...and I have even worse news.”

“Lay it on me.”

“Just got a call from a colleague on duty, they’ve just picked up a couple driving Steve’s car. They found his cell in the back seat turned off. There was no sign of the Commander Danny and they aren’t saying a word.”

The ball of worry in his stomach grew, “Where were they stopped?”

“Kaneohoe.”

In the opposite direction to them.

Junior looked to Danny, “You think he was carjacked?”

“God I hope not,” Danny grimaced. He knew just how much it would take to subdue a Navy SEAL like Steve during a carjacking. “Where’s the car now Duke?”

“On the way to the impound lot, though when we find Steve he’s not going to be happy, my guy says the whole front is damaged, with both the front lights completely smashed in.”

Danny froze, “Wait what?”

“The car,” Duke repeated, “It’s going to need a lot of repair work to it.”

“What did you say about the headlamps?”

“Smashed to pieces, looks like it collided with something else, maybe another car.”

“Duke, keep a squad car and bus on standby, I think I know where he is,” he requested before hanging up. “We were there, we were _right_ there.” he hit the steering wheel with his fist. 

Performing a u-turn that Steve would have been proud of, Danny pushed his foot down on the gas. Without being asked, Junior reached across and turned on the lights and sirens. At full speed and with flashing blue lights it took them ten minutes to return to the stretch of road where he’d spotted the broken glass. 

He swore to himself. He'd known when he was there earlier that something wasn’t right. They should have stayed and searched the area. He knew he would never forgive himself if-

They screeched to a halt, leaving new skid marks across the first set that the rain was slowly washing away. Danny and Junior leapt out of the car as soon as it was in park and Danny ran around the car to pull out two flashlights from the trunk. The sun was low on the horizon and with the dark grey clouds filling the sky it was already getting dark. 

“Check down there,” Danny ordered, nodding in the direction they had come from, “I’ll search up here,” Junior nodded back and immediately ran off, calling Steve’s name every few seconds. 

Danny did the same as he checked the mass of bushes and foliage that filled the roadside. “Steve!” It didn’t take long for his clothes to be sodden. His shoes squelched with every step and his sweater stuck to him like an icy second skin. He’d only been out for a few minutes and he was already getting cold. If Steve had been out in his for hours, who knew what state he was in. “Steve!”

He pushed through the leaves easily and stopped on the other side as the ground dropped suddenly into a deep ditch. Pointing his flashlight down the steep slope he called out again, “Steve!” 

A flash of something caught his eye and his heart leapt into his mouth. “Junior!” He shouted as he clambered down the hill as quickly as he could without tripping. “Down here!”

As he got closer he could make out two familiar shoes and khaki covered legs. “Junior!” he shouted again a little more desperately. “Oh Jeez,” The rest of Steve came into view, unconscious and covered in dirt. Danny wrapped his hand around Steve’s wrist looking for a pulse. His skin was worryingly cold but he could feel a faint and regular thump which told him Steve was fighting to stay alive. 

“Steve? Buddy?” Danny laid a hand on his chest and shook to get a reaction out of him but Steve stayed scarily still.

A dark red gash on his forehead and a few shallow scrapes were the only physical sign of injury but the slope was steep and the drop long, if he’d been pushed who knows what internal injuries he had. There was also the issue of the cold rain he’d been lying under for God knows how long. Steve wasn’t shivering and Danny had had enough cold weather first aid training in New Jersey to know that it wasn’t a good sign. His hands were shaking and covered in mud from the trip down but he pulled out his phone and dialled Tani, “I found him… Tani, he needs help  _ now.  _ Send a search and rescue medivac to our location.”

“Danny?” He heard Junior call from above him as he was hanging up the phone. 

“Junior! I got him! Get the first aid kit and the emergency blanket out the car!” 

Danny turned his attention back to his friend, “Hey, we got you okay?” Laying a hand back on his chest, he felt comforted by Steve’s shallow breaths in and out. “Just hold on.”

Junior was by his side a moment later, dropped the first aid kit on the ground beside them. Without pausing, he unwrapped the foil emergency blanket and the two of them carefully wrapped it around Steve to stop his core temperature from getting any lower. 

“What the hell happened?” Junior growled. 

“No idea, but I’m sure as hell going to find out,” Danny promised.

With help on the way, all they could do was wait. Danny wished he could move Steve, get him off the wet ground but with the fall he’d taken they had to be careful about any spinal injuries. Instead, the pair talked to him and hoped he would stay with them. 

It felt like hours had passed when the recognisable thump thump thump of the rescue helicopter was nearby. Junior climbed back up the hill to meet it and soon he was returning with two uniformed medics and a basket stretcher. All Danny could do was watch as they checked his stats, placed a collar around his neck to stabilise him and carefully placed Steve into the basket. It was clear enough above them to lower a winch down and connect the basket up to it. One medic was winched back up with the basket whilst the other went up after. 

“Where are you taking him?” Danny asked before she was lifted up. 

“Tripler!” She responded. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him.” 

Danny stood staring upwards as the medic climbed in and the helicopter immediately disappeared from sight. 

“Come on,” Junior encouraged him with a hand on his back. “We need to go.” 

With some help from Junior, Danny clambered back up to the top and back onto the road. He didn’t even care about climbing into the car covered in mud even though he’d banned Steve from the car on a number of occasions for being dirty. In the driver’s seat, he paused. His shaking hand gripped the keys a little too tightly. 

“Do you need me to drive?”

Danny looked at Junior and shook his head but thanked him any. “Call the others, tell them to get to Tripler.”

“I’ll get someone to pick us up some dry clothes too,” Danny had forgotten about his wet clothes. He didn’t even feel the cold anymore. 

******

When Danny was finally allowed in to see Steve, he was in a dry set of clothes Lou had picked up from his place on the way to the hospital. An hour had passed and the whole team had been desperate to see Steve for themselves and confirm that he was okay. When the doctor had come out to see them to let them know the Commander was stable and would make a full recovery, the relief had been audible. With a stern look, she had let them know that McGarrett needed his rest and she would only allow one person at a time. Everyone immediately looked at Danny and without a word he nodded his thanks to them and followed the doctor back through the set of double doors. 

Steve looked miserable. With his core temperature raised but not at normal levels yet, he was bundled up in blankets and heating pads whilst his body shivered uncontrollably. The gash on his head had been stitched up and the doctor informed them both that, apart from some broken ribs, a mild concussion and hypothermia, he was fine. In fact, he’d been very lucky. 

Danny snorted at that word. Steve was anything but lucky. 

As the doctor made her exit, Danny lowered himself into a nearby chair. 

“So, you didn’t think being shot, stabbed, drugged, beaten and tortured was enough, you had to go and get hypothermia on an Island with an average temperature of 90 degrees?”

“Not 90 degrees today Danno,” Steve replied, his voice trembling. 

“No...guess not.”

“You forgot being infected with a deadly nerve agent by the way...and the whole strangled and nearly drowned in a sensory deprivation tank”

“Sure, can’t forget  _ those, _ ” Danny smiled and Steve managed one in return although it may have been more of a grimace than a smile. 

“My car?”

Danny rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah, let’s talk about what’s really important,” Steve just gave him a look. “It’ll need some work doing to it but HPD are keeping it safe until you’re back on your feet.” 

Steve seemed to visibly relax at Danny’s answer. 

“You going to tell me what happened out there?”

“Was on my way back from helping out Duke’s friend,” Steve began. “Came across this couple with a broken-down car. It was raining, so I suggested she might be more comfortable in the Marquis.”

Danny could guess the rest, “So she slid into the driver’s seat, knocked you off your feet and the two of them dumped you in the ditch.”

“I guess, don’t remember much after that.”

“They were probably hoping no-one would ever find you. They definitely didn’t realise they’d targeted the head of the Governor’s taskforce.”

Steve smiled again, a proper smile that reached his eyes, “Thanks for finding me by the way.”

“Anytime,” Danny shrugged “You should know that the inside of my car is a mess from all the mud and water, I’m gonna be sending you the bill for that, my shoes were ruined too.”

“How is that my fault?”

“Haven’t you learnt by now? Everything’s your fault if I think about it hard enough.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Sure, hate on the guy who’s currently seeing two of everything.” 

“You know what else? I never got my ham, I was looking forward to the ham.”


	2. Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2: Explosion  
Danny/Steve

Danny’s heart stopped. 

With a high pitched ringing still filling his ears from the explosion, he stared with wide eyes at the door Steve had entered just moments before. 

The same door the explosion had burst out of moments after. 

He couldn’t breathe. His Kevlar vest felt like a vice around his chest. For a moment it felt like everything was happening in slow motion. 

Flames licked at the door and windows. He could feel the heat from the fire on his face even though the force of the blast had thrown him what must have been twenty feet. Between him and the building was a minefield of glass shards from the blown-out windows. 

“Steve!” he shouted with the little oxygen in his lungs. No-one responded. 

His body protested as he forced himself up from the concrete and back onto two feet, his eyes never leaving the entranceway in front of him. 

Ignoring the ache that went deep into his bones as he moved, he stepped towards the building, moving around chunks of wood, large shards of glass and concrete in his path. 

“Steve!” he called again. Smoke billowed out, dark and acrid. Just standing nearby was leaving a tickle in his throat and when he swallowed his tongue tasted bitter. 

In the distance, he could hear the familiar sound of sirens getting closer. The sound should be a comfort, knowing help was coming but he had just witnessed his best friend enter a building that had exploded. The chances of him walking out in one piece were slim to none. He wanted to run into the flames and not stop until he’d found him but the stupidly sensible part of him knew that if he did there would be two people to rescue, not one. 

The closer he got, the more his lungs seized up. The coughing had him doubled over. “Steve,” he gasped out for the third time, too faint to be heard over the sound of roaring flames and crashing timber as the building started to collapse. 

He hadn’t seen anyone come up to him, but the next thing he knew there were two sets of hands dragging him backwards. Still hunched over, his eyes strained upwards and fell on Lou and Tani, looking down at him with wide eyes and worried expressions.

“Steve,” he croaked out “He..” Unable to say the words, he lifted a hand and pointed towards the building. 

“Oh, no.” Lou’s face dropped as he followed Danny’s gaze to the building. They stood frozen in position. It wasn’t safe to enter the building to find Steve but they couldn’t just stand there and watch. 

“No, no, no, no.” Danny shook his head. “This isn’t happening.”

Tani’s hands gripped him a little tighter though he wasn’t sure if it was an attempt to comfort him or an attempt to comfort herself. 

Long moments passed as more smoke filled the sky and sirens grew even louder. All Danny could hear was the low ringing in his ears and Steve’s last words to him. 

_ “I’m going in to see if Lee is inside, stay out here in case he makes a run for it.” _

_ “Don’t do anything stupid.” _

_ Steve had smirked. “I don’t even know the meaning of the word… Don’t worry Danno, I’ll be back soon.” _

Danny couldn’t look anymore. His eyes closed, his heavy head hung down and his throat began to tighten. 

“Danny?” Lou gasped. “Danny! I think I see him.”

Danny’s eyes snapped open as Lou let go of him and rushed back towards the doorway just as a figure began to appear from the darkness. Steve’s skin was covered in soot and there was a grimace on his face that spoke of his stubbornness to survive. Supported against his body was their suspect Lee, burnt and unconscious. 

Danny still couldn’t move, even when Tani left him to go help Lou. Whilst Lou took Lee and dragged him away from the structure, Tani placed herself under Steve’s arm and let him rest against her. He coughed hard, the uncontrollable hacking sounds he was making made Danny wince. 

Carefully, Tani lowered Steve onto the ground. He sat with his knees up and his body curled over as he gasped and sucked in lungfuls of air. A few moments later an ambulance arrived and a mask of oxygen was placed over Steve’s mouth. 

Danny looked over at the second paramedic tending to Lee. The paramedic looked up, met his colleague’s eyes and shook his head. 

Turning their full attention to Steve, a pulse ox monitor was placed on a finger and they worked quickly and efficiently to get him into the back of the ambulance. Without saying a word, Danny climbed in after him. 

“He’s not out of the woods yet,” one of the paramedics told Danny as the other slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Smoke inhalation can do a number on your lungs.”

Steve, still hanging onto consciousness, smiled weakly and lifted a hand in an attempt to remove the mask. 

“Keep that on or so help me,” Danny warned, forcing Steve’s hand back down. 

Under Danny’s hand, Steve’s wrist twisted until his palm faced up. The position was awkward but Danny got the message and slid his fingers through Steve’s. 

“Don’t ever do that to me again, you hear me?”

Steve blinked slowly and bowed his head briefly. With a squeeze of his hand, Danny knew Steve had heard him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Intricatecakes for the support and punctuation fixing!


	3. Delirium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #3 - Delirium

He never thought it would come to this. 

His hands were raised high in the air as the gun pointed in his direction trembled. Danny’s eyes focused on the barrel of the handgun before travelling down the shaking hand gripping it, along the strong arm and up to the face of the man holding a gun on him. 

“Steve… it’s _me_.”

Steve’s grip shifted but his aim didn’t waver. His eyes flitted around, constantly aware of what was happening around him. Danny could see the cogs whirring as the Naval strategist tried to figure out his escape. Whilst Danny was unarmed, the five policemen surrounding the pair were not. 

The wound on Steve’s head dripped onto his grey shirt and onto the ground below. The head injury had been the first incident in a string of bad luck for Steve. The stubborn SEAL had insisted it was just a small cut that a couple of steri-strips would solve, there wouldn’t be any point in wasting hours in the ER. Danny had reluctantly agreed, knowing when to pick his battles. From what Steve’s neighbours had relayed to Lou, they’d heard crashes and banging sounds coming from his house later that evening, just after a nearby firework show. 

Combine a head injury, loud bangs and a Navy SEAL who had seen his fair share of action and this was the result. A man who thought he was somewhere else, a man who didn’t even recognise his best friend. 

Steve had somehow found his way into town with a gun gripped tightly at his side and Danny wished he knew which mission he was currently reliving. It was classified, he knew that. He hated that word. 

It was only thanks to Steve's almost celebrity status on the Island that the whole thing hadn’t descended into something a whole lot worse. Danny knew the kind of damage Steve could do with all his faculties. Without them, he was even more dangerous. He looked like a lion who had been backed into a corner, ready to pounce at any moment. The police had been smart enough to give Steve some room whilst Danny was called. 

Danny hadn’t hesitated to step into the circle of cops without a vest or weapon. 

“I don’t know you.”

“You _do_,” Danny insisted. “I’m Danny Williams, we’ve known each other for nearly a decade now.”

Steve shook his head. 

“You’re Lieutenant Commander Steven J McGarrett, Navy SEAL. You were born in Hawaii but your father sent you away when you were sixteen, you have a sister Mary--”

“That’s all in my file,” Steve growled. 

“Okay…” Danny wracked his brain for something else. “You swim every day because the water’s the closest thing you have to feeling completely free, you’re annoyingly competitive and you’re a _huge_ control freak, which bothers me to no end I might add.” Danny watched Steve’s eyes closely for a reaction. “Your own family was so messed up you had to go make one for yourself and you did, you found Kono and Chin, Lou, Adam, Tani, Jerry, Junior. You brought us all together and made us a family. You like finding broken toys like us and fixing us because it’s easier to focus on us than trying to fix yourself… you still feel guilty that you lived and Freddie didn’t… I’m Danno... _ your _ Danno.”

Steve tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “I…”

Danny continued, taking a cautious step towards Steve. “No matter what I say, I can’t stop you from putting yourself in the most dangerous situations… and you do it because you think you’re the most expendable but you’re not Steve, you’re really not.” 

“Danny?”

“You’re not well, Steve… you’ve hurt your head and it’s messing with your mind. Let me take you to the hospital.”

Steve’s gun lowered an inch but there was still a part of his brain that was muddled and unable to distinguish his delusions from reality.

“I trust you with my life, Steve… I’m standing here unarmed, no vest, because I trust that my best friend, no matter how confused he is right now, won’t shoot me… I’m asking you to trust me back.”

Danny took another step forward and held out his hand. “Can you give me the gun?”

Steve’s eyes flickered down to his hand, held palm up in his direction. 

“Do you promise?” Steve asked. 

“It’s going to be okay, you’ll be safe with me.”

Steve’s eyes met his and Danny hoped his expression said everything Steve needed to hear. Slowly and hesitantly Steve lifted the gun and laid it flat on Danny’s palm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, huge thanks to IntricateCakes!


	4. Human Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #4 Human Shield

“And the two of us have to stay out here because?” Steve pouted. 

Looking up at his uncle, Charlie attempted his own pout that Danny would have found cute if it wasn’t for the clock tower ahead of him which let him know they only had fifteen minutes before the shops closed. 

“Because someone has to look after you-know-who whilst I go help Charlie find a you-know-what for you-know-who.” 

“Dad,” Grace rolled her eyes, “I’m not a child, you don’t need to speak in code.”

“Especially one as terrible as that,” Steve agreed, earning him a glare. 

It was Grace’s birthday tomorrow and Danny had kind of left some of the birthday present shopping until the last minute, including something for Charlie to give to his big sister. 

“We’ll be done soon,” Danny promised. “Then we can all go back to yours via the shave ice stand and cool off.”

Steve seemed placated enough and waved Danny off. When Danny glanced back in their direction, Steve had led Grace to a nearby statue and was no doubt boring his eldest with the history of it. 

Pushing open the shop door, Charlie rushed under his arm and ran to the toys up ahead. “Hey, Yo! Don’t be getting any ideas over there,” Danny called after his son, “We’re to find something for your sister remember?” 

Charlie pouted again but ran back to Danny’s side. “What do you think she’ll like?”

“Something with trucks?” Charlie suggested unhelpfully. 

“Not sure she likes trucks buddy...how about something to put in her hair instead?”

Charlie considered it for a moment with an amusingly serious expression on his face before he gave the idea a nod and took Danny’s hand. 

Danny had only put one foot in front of the other before he heard a car screeching outside followed by the unmistakable sharp crack of gunfire. Using his fast reflexes, honed through years as a cop, Danny dropped to the ground, pulling Charlie with him and covering his smaller body with his own. “Get down!” He screamed as the volume of the gunfire increased. A window nearby exploded inwards and Danny held on to Charlie even tighter. 

The whole thing lasted just a few seconds. Tires screeched again, the gunfire stopped and the rumble of the engine disappeared. When he lifted his head, the first thing he could hear was a shriek and someone calling for help. Charlie trembled as Danny lifted himself up and patted his son down to double-check for any injuries. Cupping his tear-stained cheeks, Danny let out a sigh of relief and then pulled his young son close. The relief was shattered like a bucket of icy water poured over his head as he remembered Grace had been outside with Steve.

“Hey!” Danny called out to the shaken shop attendant. “I’m with 5-0, I need you to call 911.” She looked dazed for a moment and then nodded. “I have to check on people outside, this is my son Charlie,” He quickly introduced, “Don’t let him out of your sight until I return, you understand?” She nodded again. “Charlie? I need to go find your sister and Uncle Steve, Stay with the nice lady okay? She’s gonna look after you for a few minutes,” With a hand on his back, he pushed Charlie towards the lady. “I’ll be back as soon as I can buddy.” 

He hated having to leave his scared child in the care of a complete stranger but he would never forgive himself if he took Charlie with him and something were to happen. He had no idea what he would be walking out into. With a glance back at his brave boy, he pushed the door open and stepped outside. Like a switch had been flicked, he became all business. He didn’t need his gun and badge to be a police officer, that was something that was inherent in him.

Scanning the area quickly, he hoped help would arrive soon. He spotted at least three people injured on the ground with bystanders already trying to help them. As soon as he knew Grace and Steve were safe he would go check on them, he thought. 

Picking up speed, be began running in the direction he’d last seen the two of them, the statue they had been standing at acting like a beacon. As he neared his eyes fell upon Steve on the ground his body shielding a smaller body underneath. Without any cover or a weapon to fight back, Steve had done exactly what Danny had done and shielded Grace from the bullets with his body. 

“Grace! Steve!” He shouted. Steve groaned as he rolled away, giving Danny the space to force his way in between the two and held his daughter tightly against his body. “Are you okay?” 

“Danny?”

Danny pulled back and held Grace at arms-length to check her over properly. His heart thudded in his chest as his eyes landed on blood staining the bottom of her t-shirt. “Oh God, sweetie are you hurt?”

“Danny,” Steve called again. 

Grace shook her head and lifted her shirt enough to show unmarked skin across her belly. “It’s not mine.”

“Danny!” 

Danny’s eyes widened as he pieced together the information in front of him and his head twisted round sharply. Steve was still on the floor, both hands pressed against a wound on his side, his face pale. 

“Grace,” Danny reached his daughter, his eyes focused on Steve. “Go find your brother and stay with him okay?”

“But Danno-”

“No arguments,” Danny replied a little too sharply. “Go, now!”

She slipped from Danny’s grasp reluctantly and ran up the street to the shop where Charlie was being looked after. 

Steve looked up at Danny with a pained grinned. “Just a scratch.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Danny knelt down beside Steve and examined the heavily bleeding wound. He would never claim to be a medical expert but it looked like Steve needed surgery and soon. Pushing Steve’s hands away, he took over the job of putting pressed on the bullet wound. 

“Do you know who the target was?”

“Will you please just let me concentrate on you for a minute? HPD will be here any minute, that’s for them to figure out.”

“How many hurt?”

“Steve-

Steve grabbed Danny’s bicep with a bloodied hand “Please Danny, could kind of use the distraction right now.”

Danny sighed, “I don’t know, at least another three. Ambulances are on the way though, so just lie here and try not to die on me until they arrive okay?”

“It was black, maybe an SUV?”

“Yeah?” Danny humoured him, “Did you get a license plate too by any chance?”

“Was a little bit busy at the time.”

“Yeah, about that-

“Gonna tell me off for being reckless again?”

Steve started shivering and Danny pressed down harder on the wound. “You took a bullet for my daughter,” He reminded his friend, “I thought I would thank you this time.” Danny didn’t know how he was ever going to repay Steve for what he’d done.

“It was Grace,” Steve said like that explained his actions. To Danny it did. 

“I know.”

The sound of sirens began to get louder, help would arrive soon. 

“If you’ve ruined your liver again, I’m going to be pissed.”

“So it’s  _ my _ liver now?”

Danny ignored him. “Rachel’s going to be pissed too,” He realised. Pissed was an understatement. Furious was more like it. 

“Don’t worry...I’ll protect you.” Steve smiled up at Danny, just as an oxygen mask was placed on his face. 

An ambulance pulled up beside them and two EMT’s jumped out and were by their side in seconds to take over Steve’s car. 

“You promise?” Danny asked. 

Steve blinked slowly and nodded. Silently he lifted a bloodied hand and pointed with a shaky finger, back in the direction Grace had left. 

Danny got the message “We’ll be right behind you.”

It was hard walking away from Steve but his children were alone and scared and whilst he couldn’t help his friend, he could help them. As he entered the shop they ran to him and Danny squeezed them tightly against his body. 

“Is Uncle Steve okay?” Grace asked. 

“Your Uncle Steve is as tough as they come, he’ll be up and surfing with you in no time” He assured her. His heart clenched at the moist eyes both Grace and Charlie sported. “You’re safe now, both of you.” He reminded them “And Uncle Steve is being looked after too and the three of us are going to follow him to the hospital and keep him company for a bit.”

Danny felt Grace’s smaller hands grip his shirt tightly and he forced down the lump in his throat. He hated that his children had been in danger. It made him want to scream and rant until he was blue in the face. But instead, he lifted Charlie up until he was resting on his hip and laid his other arm over Grace’s shoulders. The two of them were still covered in Steve’s blood but he knew there would be a nurse he recognised who would take pity on them. 

“And in the morning, we can bring Steve some birthday cake, how does that sound?”

Grace sniffed, “I think he would like that.”


	5. Gunpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #5 Gunpoint  
This is a McDanno chapter - enjoy!

“Jump.”

Steve looked at the man holding the gun on them and then glanced at Danny. 

“Don’t look at him,” The man snapped, “You don’t have a choice, remember? I’m the one with the gun here.”

The recon mission Danny and Steve had been on just a couple of hours ago had been going well up until it hadn't. The warehouse they were staking out was the suspected headquarters of a new yakuza gang gaining power in the area. Somehow they’d been spotted and the pair found themselves tied up and sat in the back of a helicopter. The Yakuza henchmen tasked with dealing with them had brought them out to the middle of the ocean, deep blue water as far as the eyes could see. 

“He’s tied up, how is he supposed to swim?” Danny demanded, earning him a jab in the ribs from the other henchman sat next to him. He’d already taken a couple of hits to the ribs back at the warehouse and the extra hit had him gritting his teeth. Hopefully, they were only bruised and not cracked. 

“Being able to swim would defeat the object of this little exercise,” The first henchman reminded them with a smirk. “Out here, no-one will find you...except maybe a shark or two.”

“Don’t do it,” Danny growled. 

“If he doesn’t, my friend here shoots you.” The gun in his ribs digs in again and this time Danny gasped out at the pain. 

“Steve-

“Danny,” Steve cut him off. “It’s okay.”

They were the furthest thing from okay. Steve was about to launch himself out of a helicopter and drop thirty meters into shark-infested waters, his hands and feet tied and no chance of rescue. Danny dreaded to think what their plan for him was. 

“It’s really not.” 

“Stop talking,” Henchman number one snapped and cocked his gun. “Jump now.”

With one final look at Danny where he tried to say all he couldn't say out loud, Steve shuffled to the edge of the helicopter, swung his legs over and dove. It took nearly fifteen seconds for there to be a splash and Danny’s eyes slammed shut. 

With a nod, the pilot took off, returning the helicopter to solid ground twenty minutes later. 

A gun stayed trained on him as he awkwardly climbed out and as soon as they were away from the spinning rotors a hand grabbed him tightly and began escorting him towards a sedan with blacked-out windows. 

“What do you plan to do with me? Drop me in a volcano?”

“We need a little insurance.”

“And the head of the Governor’s task force wasn’t insurance?”

“Maybe, but we didn’t need both of you, a lot of people will be happy to hear he is shark food.”

“Don’t count him out just yet,” Danny responded with a glare in the henchman’s direction “You’ll find he’s hard to kill.”

The man sneered but didn’t reply. The car door was opened for him and he was pushed roughly towards it, aggravating his ribs again. 

Just as he was ducking down to climb in, he heard screeching tires and the beautiful sound of sirens. In the confusion, Danny twisted around grabbed the gun out of the shocked man’s hands, jabbed an elbow into his ribs for a little retribution and aimed the gun back at him. 

Looking up, his eyes landed on his team, grinning back at him. Lou, Adam, Tani and Junior stood in full gear, large guns held in their hands which were currently pointing at the other Yakuza henchman and the pilot. 

“Quick,” Danny said, “Get these guys secured.” Tani ran over with a set of plastic restraints in her hand to tie up the man at Danny’s feet. “Junior, call the coastguard, search and rescue, hell, call the damned Navy, we need to get everyone with a boat or helicopter out looking for Steve.” Junior nodded like a good soldier and immediately began pressing buttons on his phone.

“What the hell happened?” Lou demanded. 

“Steve went for an impromptu swim in the ocean.”

“Okay, but the man’s a pretty good swimmer,” Lou reminded him.

“Not when his hands and feet are tied and he’s made to jump out of a helicopter miles from land,” Danny reminds him.

Lou’s expression changed. “You able to pinpoint where he went in? It’ll help with the search.”

“I don’t know,” Danny winced, “I might be able to narrow it down a little bit out there it’s all just  _ blue _ ” Danny waved his hand towards the water. 

“You’ll have to try...for Steve.”

Overhearing their conversation, one of the henchmen laughed to himself. Danny growled. “Get them out of my sight,” he ordered sharply. 

*********

Danny stood on the end of the dock where the search party was being coordinated from. It had been hours since Steve had jumped and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. In less than an hour, it would be dark and the temperature would start the drop. The longer Steve was out in the water, the less chance he had. The coastguard were already talking about picking up the search again in the morning. So far 5-0 had managed to convince them to keep going. 

Whilst Danny had been able to narrow down the search area, there was still a large area to search. His mind played the worst-case scenarios on repeat: Sharks had eaten him for dinner, thanks to the ties around his hands and feet, he had been pulled him under the waves never to be seen again. But Steve was a strong swimmer, he kept reminding himself. He was a SEAL, the best of the best in and out of the water. If anyone could survive out in the middle of the ocean on their own it would be Steve. 

_Don’t count him out just yet_. That’s what he’d told the henchman. He just had to believe it.

When the sun had completely set and the moon had begun to rise in the sky, Akoni Keliʻi , the Coastguard officer running the search party, made his way over to Danny. The man’s lips were tight and his posture stiff as he came to stand opposite. 

“Don’t say it,” Danny requested, holding a hand up. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Reluctantly, Akoni ignored him and spoke, “I’m sorry Detective. It’s too dark for us to see anything even if we continued. A ship could pass right by the Commander in the water and we wouldn’t spot him.”

“I’m not giving up on him.”

Akoni sighed, “The chances of him surviving the night are slim...I’m sorry.” 

Slowly, Akoni turned and began walking back up the dock. 

“Hey!” Danny called after him and he stopped and turned to look back at Danny, “He’s a fighter...as long as he’s alive, he’s fighting...the least we can do is the same for him.”

After a moment he nodded, “I’ll keep the helicopters out for a little longer, their thermal cameras might still pick him up,” As long as his body temperature hadn’t already dropped too much went unspoken. 

“Thank you.”

As time passed with no word, Danny’s ability to keep on hoping started to slip. Whilst team members had tried to encourage him to go get some rest, he had been unable to move from his spot on the dock, like he thought he would somehow spot Steve from there. It was ridiculous but he couldn’t just  _ leave. _

“Danny!” Lou shouted from down the other end of the dock. 

Danny spun around and watched as Lou ran towards him. “Danny!” He shouted again. 

“Is it Steve?” Danny asked, his heart thudding and his throat tight. At his side, his hands balled into fists, preparing himself for bad news. 

“A man with no ID was brought in to shore by a fishing boat about an hour ago,” Lou explained whilst attempting to get his breath back. He continued before Danny could speak, “The fisherman didn’t recognise him but he was ID’d by emergency services on the scene, it was definitely him, it was Steve.”

“Lou?...is he…?”

Lou realised what he’d said and placed a hand on Danny’s arm. “Oh God, no Danny,” he shook his head, “Alive, he’s  _ alive. _ ”

Danny felt like his puppet strings had just been cut and sagged against the railings. 

“Paramedics rushed him to Queens, he’s dealing with exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn and some sore muscles but with some rest and fluids he’ll be good as new.”

“I- Danny’s throat tightened. “I thought he was-

“I know man, me too,” Lou replied softly. “Come on, let me take you to him,” Lou slid his hand up to Danny’s shoulder and led him silently back down the dock. With help from light traffic, they were able to make it to Queen’s Medical Centre within twenty minutes and Danny was quickly led to Steve’s room. 

The room was dark as he stepped inside, lit only by a small lamp on the table near Steve’s bed. Steve didn’t move immediately, his body on its side and turned away from Danny. For a brief panicked moment, Danny thought everyone had been mistaken. What if it was just someone who looked like Steve and he was still out in the ocean somewhere? 

Quickly, he moved around the bed and relaxed as Steve’s slack face came into view. His head resting on a soft pillow as he breathed in and out deeply. Danny let out a sigh of relief and dropped into the chair beside the bed. Danny’s eyes fell shut and he suddenly noticed just how tired he was. It had been a long day. 

“Hey.”

Danny’s eyes flung open and landed on Steve, his tired eyes open and looking back at him.

“Hey,” Danny replied softly. “You made it.”

Steve’s mouth quirked into a smile. “Just about.” His voice was deep and croaky, the way Danny knew it sounded when Steve was really tired. 

“What happened out there?” Danny couldn’t help but ask. “How the hell did you swim with your hands and feet tied?”

“SEAL remember?” Steve answered through a yawn. “I know you joke about the things we learn in SEAL school but that’s kind of one of 'em.”

“Of course.” 

“I managed to tread water long enough to get myself free and then it was just a case of heading in the direction of land.”

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Told you it was okay.”

“It nearly wasn’t,” Danny reminded him. “If that fisherman hadn’t spotted you.”

“Hey,” Steve slid a warm arm out from under the covers and stretched it out towards Danny. “Don’t do that…I’m fine,” Danny took the offered hand in his, entwining their fingers and squeezing hard. “I probably won’t be going for a swim in the sea anytime soon.”

Danny huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “I didn’t stop looking for you y’know.”

“I know,” Steve replied. “That’s why I love you.”

With a tug of Steve’s hand. Danny rose from the chair and let Steve pull him onto the bed. The single bed was a tight fit but the two men lay spooned together with barely an inch of space between them. Steve wrapped an arm around Danny’s waist and pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck. 

“Sleep now,” Steve murmured. 

Danny didn’t need telling twice. 


	6. Dragged Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #6 Dragged Away  
This one is pure McDanno - enjoy

It was strange, Steve thought, that the steady beeping of machines was so relaxing when he was a hospital visitor, but always kept him up at night when he was a patient. Maybe it had something to do with the regular beeps signifying the strong heartbeat of the bed’s occupant that made him feel relaxed.

After a particularly nasty fall whilst chasing a suspect, Danny had managed to damage his knee once again. Steve had let him squeeze his hand until he almost broke bones because of the agony he was in. Luckily the ambulance had arrived quickly and feeling returned to his fingers after Danny was given a healthy dose of morphine.    
  
Steve had wanted to climb into the bus after the paramedic, but there was still work to do at the scene including their suspect who needed taking back to the Palace for questioning. The invisible thread that tied the two of them together stretched tautly as the doors closed and he watched the ambulance drive away. 

When he’d arrived at the hospital two hours later, he was informed that Detective Williams was in surgery and wouldn’t be out for another hour at least and Steve wouldn’t be able to see him until he was out of recovery and had been taken to his room. 

He used the time to get in touch with Rachel to tell her the news. She promised to bring the kids in the morning which he knew Danny would want. He also had enough time to check in with the team on the case and drive home briefly to pick up some overnight things for Danny. 

When he returned, a bag of clothes and toiletries in hand, he found a comfortable spot in the waiting room and settled in for the long haul. He’d been a patient and visitor enough times that most of the staff recognised him and let him sneak into their staffroom to help himself to their coffee.

“Family of Detective Williams?”

Steve looked up at the man speaking to the room and raised his hand. “That’s me.”

The doctor made his way across the room and smiled at Steve. “I’m Doctor Hastings, I performed the surgery on Detective Williams’ knee today.”

“Steve McGarrett, his partner,” Steve replied, shaking the man’s hand. “Is Danny okay?”

“Surgery went well,” Hastings explained. “We were able to fix the damage in one go so hopefully he won’t have to come back in for a further repair anytime soon.”

“That’s good.”

“He’ll need physiotherapy but he’ll a complete recovery...I saw scarring from a previous repair job when I was exploring the injury, I took out as much as I could, which will help with the pain too.”

“Thank you, Doctor, when can he come home?”

“Sometime tomorrow if he’s recovering well,” Hastings replied, “The biggest hurdle he’ll have to face is not rushing things. If he tries to force things, he’ll end up doing more damage to it and the ongoing rehabilitation will take even longer, more surgery might even be required.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll sit on him if I have to.”

The doctor chuckled, “Hopefully he won’t be that bad.”

“You’re probably right, he’s actually the better patient in this relationship.”

Hastings laughed again. “Okay, well he’s still in the recovery room at the moment but as soon as he’s settled in his room I’ll have someone come get you.”

“Thanks again.”

With a nod and a smile, Hastings left, retreating back behind the double doors. 

After sending the team and Rachel another update, he settled back down into his seat and waited. He wasn’t good at waiting, anyone that knew him for longer than a minute knew this about him. He tried pacing up and down the waiting room but he always just ended up in the way. Sitting still was even worse and he could only manage it for short periods of time before he was up and harassing the nurses for an update. The hospital waiting room was one of the rare places that his name, rank and connections to the Governor did little to move things along.

“Commander?” Nurse Lani, one of the more senior nurses on shift came to find him another hour later. “He’s all settled in, I can take you to him now.”

The private room Danny had been placed in was down the end of a long corridor. The room was small but had its own bathroom and there was a semi-comfortable chair by the window for Steve to fall into. Once the door was shut, the familiar hospital sounds were cut off, leaving Steve alone with the sound of Danny’s heart monitor beeping and the softer, quieter sound of his steady breathing. 

Standing over the bed, Steve gently pushed Danny’s hair back the way he liked it and tugged the covers up a bit. Danny often complained of being cold when stuck in a hospital bed which is why he’d packed Danny’s favourite sweater. From experience, he knew it would be another long wait for Danny to wake up, but somehow it was easier to be patient when he could see and touch his partner. 

“Hey Danno,” He greeted the sleeping figure, just quiet enough that he knew it wouldn’t wake him up. “Doc says you’ll be up on your feet in no time.”

Reaching over, he pulled the chair away from the window and set it beside the bed. After lowering himself into it, he rested his elbow on the mattress and supported his head in his hand. 

He didn’t remember falling asleep, he hadn’t felt particularly tired, but the next thing he knows there’s a warm hand on his head. In his sleep, he’d managed to shift even closer to the bed, his head laying on his outstretched arm. Danny’s hand scratched soothingly through Steve’s short hair as he came to, his heavy eyes opening to the beautiful sight of his partner awake. 

Steve smiled and raised his head to get a better look at Danny. Danny’s hand meanwhile slid down and rested on Steve’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing up and down the end of Steve’s collarbone. “Hey,” Steve broke the silence. 

“Hey.”

“How are you feeling?”

Danny gave a short shrug, “Not bad, painkillers are working wonders.”

“Good.”

“So, am I going to live?”

“A very long time if I have my way,” Danny rolled his eyes, “You’ve got a lot of physiotherapy in your future but you’ll be chasing down suspects before you know it.”

“Oh good,” Danny replied, the usual hint of sarcasm underpinning his words. “Speaking of suspects, is ours singing like a canary?”

“He’s singing, but not the right tune,” Danny gave Steve a questioning look. Steve sighed. “He’s not our guy, I’m sorry.”

“You’re telling me I wrecked my knee for nothing?”

“Not nothing,” Steve argued, covering his hand over Danny’s, “We’ve extracted some valuable intel from him, it wasn’t for nothing.”

Without breaking eye contact, Danny slid his hand out from underneath Steve’s and brought it up to his cheek. “C’mere,” he requested. Steve rose up silently and leaned in to press his lips against Danny’s. Something inside Steve settled as they kissed. It felt like he’d returned home after being away for too long. 

“You should go,” Danny spoke after they separated. 

“No way,” Steve protested with a frown. 

“It’s late, one of us should get a good night’s sleep.”

“Well it won’t be me, I don’t sleep well without you there, you know that.”

“You’ll sleep a lot better in our bed than in that chair right there,” Danny argued. “I don’t want to hear your moaning tomorrow because you slept in a funny position and you hurt your back.”

A snort from the doorway surprised the pair and they both turned their heads to see who had entered the room. “Sorry guys, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Tani said, her body leant up against the doorpost. They had been so caught up in each other they hadn’t heard the door open. “How are you doing Danny?” She asked. 

“I’d be a lot better if you could take this idiot home.”

“So I’m an idiot now?”

“Don’t be silly, you’ve always been an idiot.”

Steve opened his mouth to retort but Tani spoke first, “Okay you two,” She pushed away from the doorpost and moved towards the bed. “As entertaining as watching mom and dad fight is, I’m here to do as he says and drag you out of here.”

Steve gave her a look of betrayal, “You do realise I’m your boss.”

She shrugged, “The team decided you would be a much more pleasant person to work with tomorrow if you had a few hours sleep under your belt.”

“I told you I’m not the only one who finds you grumpy on too little sleep,” Danny said with a smirk on his face. Steve glared at him. “Steve-” Danny began after dropping the smile “Please, I’ll sleep better knowing you’re at home.”

With a sigh, Steve nodded, “Fine, I’ll go...but I want it noted that it was under protest and that I could have taken you both.” Danny shook his head and rolled his eyes but said nothing in return. “Tani, give us a minute?” He requested. Whilst the team were aware and comfortable with the pair being together, they still preferred to keep PDA to a minimum around them. 

Once Tani had stepped outside, Danny settled back down on the bed and tugged on Steve’s arm “Did you bring my sweater?”

“And a few other things you might need,” Steve confirmed. “Your phone is on the nightstand, you call if you need me, okay? I’ll come right back over.”

“Just go will you?” Danny replied, though the words had no heat to them. 

“I hate it when you’re in here,” Steve admitted quietly. 

“Likewise.”

Steve leaned back over and kissed Danny once, twice more. He pulled back momentarily and then leant in again to press a kiss to Danny’s forehead. “Get some rest.”

“You too.”

It would be hard, sleeping in their bed alone, but Steve would try, for Danny. “Goodnight Danno.”

“See you in the morning,” Danny promised with a sleepy smile. They both knew Steve would be back as early as the nurses would let him. Danny was absolutely fine with that. 


	7. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #7 Isolation
> 
> Another McDanno chapter!

The packet exploded in the air, covering Steve and his attacker in a fine white powder just as Steve fired a shot point-blank to the man’s chest. The dead man dropped to the floor with a thud, the gun he had been aiming at Steve fell out of his hand and clattered to the ground at Steve’s feet. 

He sucked in a lungful of oxygen and immediately coughed as he breathed in the powder. Steve slowly looked down at his arms and chest, covered in the unidentified dust he was covered in. The fact that he was standing in a makeshift chemical lab didn’t make him feel any better. 

Looking up, his eyes met Danny’s standing outside the room looking in. Before Danny could enter, Steve crossed the room and slammed the door shut. His fingers grasped the metal lock below the handle and quickly slid it across, stopping anyone from getting in.

“What the hell are you doing?” Danny frowned at him through the thick, unbreakable glass panel in the door. He grasped the handle from the other side and gave it a yank. “Open the door, Steve.”

Steve ignored him, “Call a hazmat team,” he ordered. 

“Let me in.”

“No.”

“Steve.”

“Danny!” Steve snapped back unexpectedly, causing Danny’s eyes to widen in surprise. “We don’t know what this stuff could be, I’m exposed, no-one else has to be.”

“Why do you always have to play the damned hero,” Danny growled. 

Steve sighed and sagged against the door, “Please Danno, just do what I ask.”

“Okay, okay,” Danny held his hands up, “Just try not to breathe too much of that crap in please?”

Danny took a step away from the door and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Through the glass, Steve could hear him calling for the hazmat team as well as an ambulance. Meanwhile, Steve took a look around the room for any clues as to what the powder was. 

“Any ideas?”

Steve shrugged, “Could be anything.” He didn’t want to freak Danny out any more than he already was. There were a number of different things the powder could be, none of them good. 

Whilst they waited for help to arrive. Danny began pacing up and down the outside of the room like a caged tiger. The walls, also featuring thick panes of glass allowed Steve the opportunity to watch him every step. 

“It could be worse you know.”

Danny sent him a sharp look, “How could this situation be worse?”

“It could be you in here and me out there…to me, that would be worse,” he answered with a rawness that Danny wasn’t expecting.

Danny froze on the spot and met Steve’s open gaze through the window. 

“God Steve.” He huffed out a soft laugh “You picked one of the worst possible times to say something y’know.”

He rested his forehead against the pane, his warm breath leaving condensation shapes across the surface. Without saying anything, Steve stepped towards him on the other side and rested his own head against the window Danny could almost feel Steve’s body heat through the glass and found himself wanting Steve in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to want before. 

“If I am infected- Steve began quietly.

Danny’s eyes fell shut, “Don’t, please,” he pleased. “I know okay? I’ve always known.”

Steve didn’t say anything else, not for the entire fifteen-minute wait for the hazmat team. They stayed close, Danny watching Steve carefully for signs of deterioration. 

Danny was forced out of the warehouse as the team pulled huge airtight suits on and only when it was safe did Steve unlock the door. 

A shower had been set up outside and he was led out at arm's length towards it. Steve couldn’t help but look for Danny behind the cordon twenty feet away, their eyes meeting briefly before Steve was pushed into the makeshift shower and made to strip. After two men in hazmat suits scrubbed him down from head to toe a third took a couple of blood samples from a vein in his arm and then handed him some clean dry clothes for him to put on. 

Put in the back of an ambulance, Steve was taken to the nearest hospital with a quarantine unit and he once again found himself locked in a room with thick panes of glass separating him from the rest of the world. At least he was in a hospital and not a room full of suspicious-looking powder. 

The doctor who had made sure he was okay as they locked him in had promised the powder samples and his blood would be tested as soon as possible. Steve was left alone soon afterwards. There was a button he could press for attention but the only person he wanted attention from was Danny who was nowhere to be found. He hoped he hadn’t screwed things up back at the warehouse. He would never forgive himself if he messed up the one good thing in his life. At least he hadn't started feeling any effects from whatever the powder was yet. 

“Open the door.”

Steve heard Danny's familiar voice request nearly an hour later. He almost jumped to his feet and made his way closer to the door. The nurse beside Danny pressed a four-digit code into the keypad and the outer quarantine door slid open. 

“Danny?” Steve called out warily. “What’s going on?” 

Danny ignored him, “And the other one,” he ordered calmly. She tapped a passcode into a second keypad and the second door separating Danny and Steve wooshed open. 

Danny said nothing for a moment before he was shaking his head “You idiot,” he scolded Steve. He pushed forward suddenly, cutting through the space between them with determination. Steve stood there in shock as Danny launched at him, their bodies colliding almost painfully as Danny rose up onto his tiptoes, wrapped his arms tightly around Steve’s neck and planted a rough kiss on Steve’s slack lips. It took Steve less than a second to get with the program, his own arms sliding around Danny’s waist and his lips pressing firmly back against Danny’s. 

When oxygen became an issue they pulled apart, their breaths ragged and their faces warm from the heated embrace. 

“So,” Steve started, his arms still wrapped around Danny’s slim waist. One hand had slid up the back of Danny’s shirt during the kiss and was splayed across Danny’s hot skin. “Not dying?”

“All that drama Steve, the absolute terror you put me through and for what? Some crushed up aspirin.”

Steve’s eyes widened, “What did you say?”

“It was aspirin you idiot, You didn’t even inhale enough to cause an overdose.”

“Huh.”

“Don’t_ ever _ scare me like that again you hear?” Danny growled. 

Steve tightened his grip, pulling Danny tightly against Steve’s body. “Promise,” Steve replied softly before ducking down for another kiss. 


	8. Stab Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promp #8 - Stab Wound  
Danny/Steve friendship with a cameo from Mary

"Stop checking your phone Mary, Joanie is absolutely fine, I promise."

Mary looked guilty and quickly put the phone away, "She can be a real handle with new people sometimes."

"Well if anyone can handle her it would be a tier-one operator," Steve replied. He trusted Junior to keep his niece safe and out of trouble. "This is your first night out in weeks," He reminded her.

"And for some reason, you wanted to spend it with your brother and his partner," Danny interjected with a wry smile. 

"Well someone has to pay for the drinks," She raised her beer bottle and then frowned as she realised it was nearly empty. "Speaking of, I'm going to get another round." She gulped down the rest of her drink and slid out of the booth. 

"You better have your wallet on you tonight," Danny warned, "I don't think she's planning on taking it easy."

Steve patted his trouser pocket, "It's there, don't worry."

The guys chatted for a couple of minutes as they waited for Mary to return with the next round of drinks. When she didn't appear, Steve frowned in concern and twisted his neck round to see if he could spot her at the bar. His frown deepened when he saw his younger sister being crowded against the bar by two large men and she didn't look happy about it. 

"Hey, something's up."

"Need help?"

"Nah, I got this," he assured Danny. 

He wanted to run in and protect his little sister but he knew she never appreciated his alpha male protectiveness. Instead, he got up and made his way over, forcing down the anger he already felt towards men and puting on a friendly smile. 

"Mary, what's taking so long?"

One of the men looked Steve up and down and sneered, "Who's this, your boyfriend?"

"Ew, no," Mary quickly replied with a grimace, "This is my brother Steve."

"Come on Mar', let's go back to the booth." He stepped in closer and held out a hand towards his sister. She tried to slip between the two men but they crowded even closer to her, blocking her path.

"She's fine right here pal," the second guy replied. 

"From where I'm standing, it looks like she's not interested guys, so how about you go home and sleep the alcohol off" he suggested calmly.

The two men looked at each other and laughed. "Why don't you mind your own business and leave us alone to talk your hot sister."

"I'm not going anywhere without her."

"Gentlemen," Mary tried to stop the confrontation from escalating, “As nice as this was, I’m going to go,” A second attempt to pass the two men was also blocked and as they pushed her back against the bar, her drink spilt down her new skirt. Mary’s eyes darkened and she gave her brother a look to say _ do your worst. _

The men were a few years younger than Steve and around the same weight but he wasn't worried. They'd had a few more beers than him and looked like they didn't know how to take down a suspect with a pinkie finger like he could. Their confident expressions also meant they were severely underestimating his abilities. 

“Okay,” Steve clapped his hands together. “Here’s how this is going to go. You two are going to step away from my sister, pay for your drinks and get the hell out of here.”

The idiots straightened their backs and puffed out their chests in a poor attempt to look threatening. “And if we don’t,” the one on the left growled. 

“Then we’re going to have a problem.” Steve didn’t blink. 

Without looking, Steve felt Danny come up beside him. His partner was chuckling, his hands dug casually in his pockets. 

“What the hell are you laughing at shorty,” one of them sneered.

“Me?” Danny’s eyebrowss raised at the question directed at him. Ignoring the comment about his height, he responded, “I’m laughing at you two schmucks, you have no idea who you’ve just pissed off do you?”

“What, _this_ loser?”

Danny’s grin widened, “See that’s what’s funny ‘cos you’re trying to threaten a guy who once strolled into the back yard belonging to the leader of a Mexican drug cartel unarmed, not once, but twice and came away without a scratch on him.

“Yeah, right,” The one on the right sneered. 

“Your funeral man,” Danny shrugged. 

Steve had lost all patience. He reached between the men, slid an arm across Mary’s shoulders and pulled her forward until she emerged free and clear. 

“Hey!” A large hand slammed down on Steve’s shoulder and Steve reacted quickly. He pivoted sharply, grabbed the hand that had grabbed him and twisted it hard until the man’s face was pressed into the surface of the bar, his arm bent painfully behind him. The second man went to defend his friend but Steve was prepared for it. As he held the first man in place, he dodged the fist aimed for his face. He used the man’s forward momentum to push him off balance and then kicked his foot out from under him, sending him sprawling on the floor. Steve pressed his boot down on the man’s back to keep him in place. 

“Stay!” He ordered, “Good boy.”

“Who the hell are you?” The man pinned to the bar asked. 

“Oh, did I not introduce him properly before?” Mary asked, putting on an innocent look. “This is my brother, Lt Commander Steve McGarrett, Navy SEAL and head of the Governer’s elite crime taskforce.” 

“Shit.” The one on the floor grumbled. 

“Now, here’s what's going to happen next,” Steve explained. “You’re both going to apologise to my younger sister and then I’m going to let you go. You’re going to walk out this door and if I see you two again I’m arresting you both for assaulting an officer. Am I clear?” The men said nothing, “Am I clear?” Steve said a little louder. 

“Yes!”

“Okay, okay, just let me go man!” 

“Apologise,” Steve ordered, his voice sharp and strong like he was talking to a pair of Navy subordinates.

“We’re sorry okay?”

“Yeah, we’re real sorry.”

Satisfied that their apology was the best they would get out of the pair, Steve let go of them and stepped out of the way, putting himself between them and Mary. 

They glared at Steve as they collected themselves but said nothing as they stalked away. 

“Thanks guys!” Danny called after them. “Best entertainment I’ve had all week!”

Steve shook his head at Danny, “Thanks for the assist by the way.”

“You said you had it, looks to me like you did.”

“Can we please just go sit back down?” Mary pleaded, “_Thank you._” She lead them back to their booth and they settled back in quickly. A minute or so later a waitress appeared with even more drinks. 

“We didn’t order these.”

The waitress smiled at Steve, “These are a thank you from our manager, she saw you get rid of those assholes.” 

“This night just keeps getting better,” Danny grabbed the new bottle offered and placed it next to the one he was still drinking. “Tell your manager thanks.”

A few hours and a few beers later, Mary yawned, signalling it was time for her to go. “A few years ago I’d be partying till morning, now I can barely make it past ten,” She complained as slid back out of the booth. 

Danny snorted, “That’s parenthood for you,” He said knowingly. “We staying for one more?” He asked Steve. 

“Yeah, let me just make sure Mary gets a cab okay.”

“Steve, I’m not a child, I can get home by myself.”

“Humour me, please?” Steve slung his arm back over her shoulders and walked with her through the bar and out the door. They waited together in the muggy dark street for her Uber to arrive and as it pulled up they hugged.

“Kiss Joanie for me okay?”

“Come see her next weekend?”

“Will do,” He promised. He pressed a kiss to her temple and then let her go, staying outside to watch as she climbed in the back of the car and then drove away. 

“Hey!” 

Steve turned around at the voice and frowned when he saw a familiar face. “What did I warn you about showing your face again,” He told one of the men he’d kicked out of the bar earlier that evening. 

“You embarrassed us, we can’t stand for that,” The man shouted. 

Steve didn’t look concerned, “If you two wanna do this again, be my guest, but I’m not going to go easy on you both a second time around.”

“Not going to go down like it did last time,” he replied, a dark look in his eyes. As he spoke, his friend stepped out of the shadows alongside two more men. One was wielding a baseball bat and the other had a knife gripped in his hand. 

“I think it’s time for a little payback.” 

Steve sighed. He hated fistfights. Too many arms and legs to figure out. There was no way of getting out of the fight he was being pulled into though. The street was quiet and his phone was inside with Danny so there was no way to call for some backup. Whilst he was confident, taking on four men at once wasn’t ideal, not when he’d just downed four bottles of beer after a long day at work. “Okay,” Steve rolled his shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.” 

He didn’t wait for them to attack. Like a viper striking out, he flattened his hand and forced it into the first man’s throat. The man choked and gasped, falling to his knees in pain. Meanwhile, the man with the bat ran for him. Steve was able to miss the first swing but as a third man joined the melee, his attention wavered and the bat collided with his ribs on the second swing. 

He ignored the pain that quickly spread through his chest and reached for the bat to stop it from connecting for a third time. He slammed his foot down on the man’s knee, the pain it caused freeing the bat from his hands and Steve quickly flipped the bat, grabbed the handle and swung back. 

The third man continued his assault which Steve was able to block using the bat. On his other side, the fourth man with the knife stepped forward and the sharp metal sliced through the air towards him. He shifted back as far as possible and the knife swiped past him with less than an inch to spare. Lifting his foot, he pushed the knife-wielding man back with a kick to the groin as he forced the end of the bat into the chest of attacker #3. The man doubled over and Steve used the opportunity to slam his elbow into the man’s back. A final knee to the head was enough to put him to sleep. 

The last attacker standing still had the knife in his grip and Steve knew that he needed to disarm him quickly. With adrenaline running through his body and blood pumping fast, he reached for the man’s wrist and slammed it against the nearest wall. He cried out and the knife dropped from his hand. The weapon landed on the ground forgotten as Steve twisted the wrist and performed a similar trick to earlier, forcing the man’s arm up high behind his back and pressing him into the wall. 

With his focus on attacker number four, he didn’t notice how the first man had recovered. Spotting his revenge, the man dove towards the knife, curled his fingers around the grip and raised it into the air. 

Steve gasped, his eyes widening as the knife slammed down into his thigh, cutting through muscle like a warm knife through butter. Even though it was agony, Steve used his unharmed leg to deliver a roundhouse kick to the man’s head. The hit was enough to send the man flying and he landed in an unconscious heap beside the curb. The diversion had meant letting go of the man he had held against the wall but Steve quickly returned his attention to him and slid his arm around the man’s neck in a chokehold. A few seconds later his last attacker sagged against him and he let go, watching him fall to the ground. 

As he caught his breath, his eyes lowered to look at the hilt of the knife sticking out of his leg. Blood was slowly flowing out from the wound but he knew he could have lost a lot more blood if the knife had been taken out. 

He stumbled forward but any weight on his injured leg sent sharp shooting pains up and down his body. All he could do was rest all his weight on his other leg and wait for someone to find him. 

“Steve?” Danny called from around the corner. “Where are you? Your drink is getting warm.”

Steve felt relief wash over him at his partner's timing, “Danny?” He called out, his voice strained from the pain. 

Danny turned the corner and froze, his eyes taking in the scene in front of him. Four attackers, two he definitely recognised from earlier were unconscious on the ground whilst Steve stood above them with what looked like a knife stuck in this thigh. 

“What the _ hell _happened to you?”

“What do you think it looks like Danno,” Steve replied through gritted teeth. “Do you think maybe you could can any comments you might have and call me an ambulance? I don’t think I can stand much longer.”

“Shit,” With one hand he reached into his pocket for his phone as he manoeuvred around the bodies and tucked himself into Steve's side for him to rest against. Steve focused on his breathing as Danny called for an ambulance along with a couple of squad cars to pick up Steve’s attackers.

“I can’t believe you took on four guys at once, two you can handle no problem but four?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Didn’t have much of a choice did I?”

“So...which one of us is going to tell Mary about this?”

Steve took another look down at his stab wound and the steady stream of blood trickling down his leg before glancing over at Danny. “Rock, paper, scissors?”


	9. Shackled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #9 Shackled
> 
> Danny/Steve friendship - this is mostly Danny being snarky

When Danny came to, he was in a dingy basement storeroom. A loose pipe was slowly dripping brown water into a puddle beside him and there was only the fluroscent strip above his head lighting the room. As the fog cleared from his mind, he realised both his hands were shackled to the metal chair he had been placed in like he was in some horror movie version of the rendition room. He pulled at the restraints just in case his captor had been sloppy and not secured him properly but no such luck. 

"Perfect," he muttered to himself. The tight metal shackles around his wrists dug into his skin and forced his shoulders back painfully. His head was also pounding from where he'd been knocked out and he could feel dried blood down the side of his face which was beginning to itch. 

There wasn't a clock on the wall and no natural light to figure out how much time had passed since he had been taken. He guessed an hour, two at most. He couldn't have been taken far and he was confident he was still in the Honolulu area. 

"Hello!" He called out, "Anyone out there?"

After a moment he heard footsteps, the clang of the door being unlocked and then a figure stepped through the threshold. The man was all in black and wore a scarf tied around his nose and mouth as a makeshift mask. The whole set up looked amateur at best but There was a dark look in the man's eyes, something unpredictable which didn't fill Danny with any confidence. Luckily he had been waiting for Steve to arrive when he'd been taken and he knew his partner would be out looking for him the minute he went MIA. Kidnapping a member of 5-0 was never a good idea, the whole island would be looking for him. He just had to stall and not take too much damage in the process. 

"Detective," the man greeted, 

"You have me at a disadvantage, you know who I am but what do I call you?"

"Call me Mr Black."

"Oh God," Danny groaned, "Nothing worse than a kidnapper who's watched too many Quentin Tarantino films."

He earned himself a glare his comment. 

"You will be here a while Detective, there's a lot of information in your brain that I would like."

"You can try," Danny offered calmly, "But It took me fifteen minutes for me to find my car keys this morning so don't expect too much from me."

"The longer you resist, the less you co-operate, the more this will hurt for you," Mr Black promised.

"Well we're going to have a problem then, because the more you hurt me, the more pissed off my partner's going to be and trust me, you don't want to come face to face with a pissed off Navy SEAL if you can help it."

"Enough!" Mr Black shouted. He widened his stance and cracked his knuckles in what Danny assumed was some poor attempt to scare him. 

"Well? What do you want to know? The sooner you ask me your questions, the sooner I can  _ not  _ answer them."

Mr Black growled, quickly losing his temper. Danny was rewarded with a punch to his gut which forced the air from his lungs. "Better be careful there, I had a big lunch and those look like expensive shoes" Danny croaked out in between breaths. 

"Who is your contact inside the Sinaloa Cartel?" Mr Black asked, ignoring Danny's comment. 

"The Sinaloa Cartel? Never heard of 'em."

Danny's head snapped back as Mr Black's fist collided with his cheek, sending shooting pains down his spine. 

"Where is your intel coming from?"

"Google mostly."

Another punch. Danny winced as the hit cut opened his bottom lip. He swiped his tongue across it assess the damage and was relieved to find it wasn't too bad. 

"Your mole inside the cartel, who is it and what have they told you?"

"Woah, one question at a time, please." 

Another two hits, both to the face. Danny's eye was already starting to swell and his vision was blurry, "Tell me what I want to know!" Mr Black shouted. Any patience he did have was long gone.

Danny opened his mouth to speak but froze when he heard a noise from outside the door. "You hear that?"

"I hear nothing, stop stalling."

"I definitely heard something," Danny insisted.

"You're trying to trick me, it's not going to work."

A second later there was a loud thud just on the other side of the door. If Danny wasn't mistaken it sounded like someone dropping to the floor. 

Mr Black reacted to the sound, reaching into the waistband of his trousers for a small handgun. He circled around until he was standing over Danny's chair, gun raised forwards towards the door ahead of them. 

The next sound they both heard was a knock on the door.

“I think that’s for you.”

“Shut up!” Mr Black hissed, clamping a hand down on Danny’s shoulder painfully.

For the longest moment, there was nothing but silence and then the door was pushed open. Mr Black immediately starting firing through the doorway and Danny winced at the sharp bangs close to his ear. Mr Black fired five rounds and then hesitated when he realised there was no-one there. 

The corridor outside the room was dark and empty. 

With his gun still raised, Mr Black moved towards the door slowly. The gun crossed the doorway first and he had barely stepped across the threshold when a hand shot out and grabbed the gun. The hand forced the gun up into the air and then Steve moved into view as he pushed a knee up into Mr Black’s ribs. The gun dropped from Mr Black's grip and he went flying backwards into the room, landing on the floor by Danny’s feet.

“I told you not to piss him off.”

With practised ease, Steve separated the magazine from the gun as well as the round in the chamber before throwing them over his shoulder. His own gun was in its holster and he reached down and lifted it out, flicking the safety off. Only then did he greet Danny. 

“Daniel,” He gave his partner a nod.

“Steven,” Danny responded in the same tone. 

“Doing okay?”

“Could be better.”

Mr Black in the meantime had scrambled to his hands and knees whilst they were distracted. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Steve asked, lifting a foot and pressing it down on his back until his face was pressed into the concrete. 

“Wanna see if he has a set of keys on him?” Danny suggested, jangling the shackles around his wrists. 

“You heard him,” Steve pressed down even harder. “Hand over the keys.”

It was awkward but Mr Black was able to reach into his front pocket and chucked them across. 

“Don’t move,” Steve ordered. “You move I shoot you.” He took his foot off Mr Black’s back and took the keys over to Danny. With one eye on the man on the floor, he unlocked the shackles holding Danny to the chair. 

As the cuffs came off, Danny rubbed his sore wrists. Steve took the cuffs and used them on Mr Black. 

“Come on” Steve yanked the man up off the floor. Danny rose to his feet carefully, not wanting to deal with headrush. Stepping over to stand beside Steve he reached up and pulled down Mr Black’s mask. The man glared at them both but exercised his right to stay quiet. 

“Let's get this idiot to lockup and then we can stop by Queens and get you checked out.”   
  
“I’m fine, I promise. Nothing an ice pack and a bottle of beer won’t fix.”

"Not a discussion," Steve insisted, "That cut on your head needs a couple of stitches at least."

"Fine," Danny grumbled as they began walking their prisoner out of the building

“By the way, he didn't happen to say why he took you?”

“Wanted information on the Sinaloa Cartel."

Steve blinked. “That’s not even our case, we don’t have any information to give.”

Mr Black’s eyes widened at the revelation. 

“Yeah,” Danny smiled softly, trying not to injure his split lip any more. “But he didn’t know that.”


	10. Unconscious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #10 - Unconscious
> 
> sorry it's a short one today, I didn't know what to write and left it until the very last minute!

"This is Steve McGarrett, I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you."

_ “Hey, I’m here, Grace is here, the burgers are waiting to be cooked, you’re late, call me back.” _

_ “Steve, we’re starting the grill without you, there are like a hundred kids and hungry off duty cops here waiting to be fed, whatever you’re up to is not more important.” _

_ “Seriously, pick your damn phone up Steven!” _

_ “If you’re on your way to North Korea or Afghanistan right now on some secret op, I’m not saving your ass this time.” _

_ “Okay, I was pissed and now I’m worried. You said you’d be here, this isn’t like you man.” _

_ “Steve? Please, call me back so I can stop worrying. How can I enjoy my dog if I don’t know where the hell you are?” _

_ “If you don’t let me know you’re okay in the next ten minutes I’m coming to find you.”  _

Danny pulled up in front of Steve’s house and put the car into park. He’d already dropped Grace off at Rachels, who just about managed to look up from texting long enough to say goodbye to her father. She’d only agreed to attend the HPD community barbeque because she knew Will was also going to be there. The two had sat together all afternoon, mostly communicating my text as far as Danny could tell. 

The day had been overshadowed by Steve not turning up like he had said he would. It wasn’t like his friend not to do something if he said he would do it, it just wasn’t in his DNA. He was more reliable than winter snow in New Jersey. He had been angry at first but the longer it had gone without word from Steve, the more worried he had got. A horrible feeling in his gut had meant his hot dog had tasted like cardboard in his mouth and as soon as he was able to tear Grace and Will away from each other, he said his goodbyes and got out of there. 

Climbing out of the way, he made his way over to the house and stepped up onto the veranda. He curled his hand into a fist, raised it and banged hard against the wooden door. “Steve? You in there?” He shouted as loud as he could. 

Through the door, Danny heard a whine and a soft bark. He banged on the door again and was rewarded with another bark, louder this time. “Steve?”

With a furrowed brow, he stepped over to the nearby window. Pressing his face against the glass he scanned the dark room for any sign of his friend. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes fell upon a pair of feet on the floor, the rest of him obscured from view. “Shit” Returning to the door he tried to open it but Steve was lying right in front of it and it wasn’t budging. “Hold on okay?”

Danny ran around the back of the house, hoping Steve hadn’t locked the back door. He swore again when the door wouldn’t open. “Sorry Steve” He preemptively apologised as he turned his back on the door, lifted his knee up and kicked back, forcing the door open. The wood around the lock splintered and the whole thing swung open, crashing into the cupboard behind it. Danny was immediately greeted at the entrance by Eddie who whined and huffed impatiently. He could tell that the dog knew something was wrong with Steve and was trying to get Danny to follow him back to where Steve was. 

Without hesitating, Danny chased after Eddie and once in the living room quickly assessed Steve. He was lying on his back unconscious, one arm at a painful-looking angle underneath him. 

Dropping to his knees beside Steve’s body, he placed two fingers against his neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a steady pulse. “Steve, can you hear me?” He pinched Steve’s shoulder, a trick he’d learned from a nurse back home. 

Steve’s body reacted to the painful stimulus, his eyes scrunching tightly and then a groan fell from his lips. “Danny?” 

“Yeah, it’s me, rescuing you once again.”

Steve opened his eyes and looked up at Danny. He tried to sit up but Danny pushed him back down. “Woah, stay there, I think you fell quite a way” There were books and other personal items scattered around Steve as well as a trail of them that led back up the stairs. “Just lie still” With his left hand holding Steve down, he pulled his cell out of his pocket with his right and dialled for an ambulance. Danny hung up when the operator promised one was on the way and returned his full attention to Steve. 

“You remember what happened?” 

“I was clearing out the attic, wanted to get as much done as I could before the barbeque.”

“And you slipped and fell?” Danny guessed. 

Steve gave a slight shake of the head “It was Eddie, he came up the stairs, the box in my hand was big, he tripped me up.”

“Huh, who knew you could be taken out by a dog?” 

“I was not-” Steve was about to argue with him but stopped. “Nevermind” He sighed. “Did I miss the barbeque?” 

“Sorry buddy, they’re packing up as we speak.”

“Perfect” Steve grumbled. He wasn’t looking forward to spending the next twenty-four hours or more in the hospital.

Danny had known Steve long enough to know what he was thinking. “Why don’t we have a do-over when you’re feeling better? A team barbeque, I’ll bring the kids round.”

“That would be nice.”

Danny kept Steve talking and alert until the ambulance arrived. When he heard the sirens outside, he reluctantly left Steve to direct the paramedics around the house to the open door. Once inside, the duo got to work securing Steve on a backboard, putting a cervical collar around his neck and placing his suspected broken arm down in a splint. Whilst they were working on him, Danny hunted for his partner's cellphone. Finding it on his father's desk, Danny quickly found the numerous messages he'd left Steve earlier in the day. He hated himself for how angry he'd gotten when his best friend had been lying unconscious on the floor. 

"Are you coming to the hospital with us?" One of the paramedics asked. 

Danny looked up at him and nodded "Be right there" He answered before returning his gaze to the phone in his hand. With a couple of buttons pressed, the messages were all deleted. He pushed Steve's phone into his back pocket, quickly secured Steve's back door as best as he could and followed the two paramedics out the front door, Steve on a stretcher between them. 


	11. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #11 Stitches
> 
> This is a pretty soppy McDanno chapter - enjoy!

Danny sat in the chair stiffly, his arms folded across his chest and his lips pressed tightly together. He hadn’t said a word in over fifteen minutes which was how Steve knew how angry he was. The more pissed off Danny was, the less he said. The fact that he was still in the room with Steve was saying something. 

“You really going to sit there and sulk like a little girl?” Steve asked, knowing the only way to get Danny to speak to him was to get a rise out of him. Fortunately, Steve had known Danny long enough to know his triggers. 

Danny’s eyes flicked over to Steve briefly, his eyes narrowing but his mouth stayed firmly shut. The doctor standing in between the pair had also chosen to stay quiet, a wise move on his part. 

“You would have done the same thing in my shoes,” Steve tried. “And don’t try to deny it.”

The doctor continued to work, slowly and carefully stitching up the long gash along Steve’s arm. He had already stitched up another cut along his side and another cut across his shoulder was waiting to be stitched up next. A few smaller cuts had already been cleaned and were covered in steri-strips and band-aids. That’s what you got for rugby-tackling a bad guy with a gun through a plate glass window. Steve wasn't looking forward to the next couple of weeks. He hated the way the stitches itched so much, the way they stung if he moved the wrong way. He also knew it meant no swimming for a while. 

“He was about to shoot an innocent bystander,” Steve reminded Danny. “What was I supposed to do, stand there and watch?”

“You were supposed to shoot him first,” Danny snapped. 

“And if his gun had gone off? What then?”

Danny didn’t respond. Instead, he directed his attention to the doctor who still had his head down in concentration. “How many stitches are we currently up to?”

The doctor blinked, looking over at Danny for a second before returning his attention to Steve’s arm. “This is number nineteen,” he answered. “We’re probably looking at twenty-five in total, maybe a bit more.”

Danny’s face soured even further. “Did you hear that Steven? Twenty-five stitches”.

“Yes Danny I heard, I’m the one getting them remember?”

“How could I possibly forget.” 

Steve shook his head. He was firmly in the dog house and he had no idea what to do to get out of it. The next few hours, possibly even days, would be a chilly experience unless he was able to fix things quickly. 

“I’m assuming you know the aftercare routine for stitches?” The doctor asked. He wasn’t a doctor Steve had encountered before but his medical history and regular attendance at the hospital was well known amongst staff. 

“Yeah, yeah, avoid pulling on the stitches, keep them clean and dry,” Steve replied. “Guessing there’s no chance of a sponge bath in my future?” He directed at Danny. 

“Not anytime soon,” Danny promised. “You won’t have to worry about any _vigorous activity_ pulling the stitches either," he added. Steve frowned unhappily at the thought. He hoped Danny wouldn't take it too far and sleep in the spare bedroom later that night. 

In a momentary lapse in concentration, the doctor tugged a little too hard on the thread and Steve winced. Whilst the area had been injected with a local anaesthetic, he was still sore all over and the cut on his shoulder still stung. 

“Sorry Commander,” he apologised. 

“Oh look, someone actually knows how to say that word,” Danny said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Okay,” Steve held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you even know why I’m pissed right now?”

“Because it’s a day ending in y?” Steve guessed. 

Danny ignored Steve’s snark, “Because once again you risked your life without thinking of the consequences.”

“The consequences were somebody getting shot because I didn’t subdue the shooter,” Steve argued. 

Danny stood up sharply and stepped over to the window, arms still folded tightly across his chest. 

“You know what,” The doctor began as he cut finished up the final stitch on Steve’s arm, cutting the thread and placing his tools down on a nearby tray. “I can come back and do your shoulder in a couple of minutes,” he made a hasty retreat, shutting the door behind him. 

Finally, Danny turned around. “You realise the glass could have sliced through an artery right? Or you could be in surgery right now from a shard to the gut.”

“But It didn’t and I’m not.” 

“Doesn’t stop me from lying up at night wondering what will be the thing that takes you away from me,” Danny admitted. 

Steve looked back at Danny with wide eyes. “Danny-

“I’m terrified that you’re going to get yourself killed one day doing something stupid and annoyingly heroic.”

“Come here,” Danny didn’t move, “ _ Please. _ ” 

Reluctantly, Danny moved across the room, stopping in front of Steve. He pushed in between Steve’s spread knees and Steve hooked an ankle around one of Danny’s calves to hold him in place. “I do what I have to do,” Steve said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about you, about  _ us _ when I do it”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Steve shrugged and then regretted it. The up and down motion aggravated the laceration across his shoulder. Unfurling his arms, Danny reached in between them and lifted Steve’s injured arm up so he could press a kiss close to the wound. 

“I’m sorry” Steve apologised again. “For making you worry...for making you think I don’t care if I live or die” He didn't care. He might not have always cared but that was before he had Danny in his life. He would always fight to get back to Danny. Steve just had to get him to see that. 

Danny’s hand let go of Steve’s arm and slid down so he could slide his fingers through Steve’s. Steve grasped Danny’s hand tightly. 

“Will you try and not be so quick to charge through a plate of glass in the future?

“Will you give me that sponge bath?” Steve returned. 

Danny groaned and dropped his head onto Steve’s uninjured shoulder. “God I hate you sometimes.” 

Steve's lips quirked into a smile. With a small turn of his head, he pressed his lips against Danny's temple, returning Danny's gesture, “You really don’t.” 


	12. "Don't Move"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #12 Don't Move

“Charlie!” Rachel called over, “Not too close to the road okay?”

“Okay mommy!” Charlie called back. He scooped his ball up and ran up to Steve with it. “Will you play with me, Uncle Steve?”

Steve gave Charlie a wide grin, “Like you even have to ask.” 

He stuck his half-empty bottle of beer on the blanket by Danny’s feet and jumped up off the ground. Once upright, he bent down to loop an arm around Charlie’s waist. The young boy screamed in delight as he was lifted into the air, the ball still held tightly in his hands. Steve carried him over to a large clear patch of grass and finally put him back on the ground. 

The team, plus family and friends were all gathered in Al Moana Park to celebrate Charlie’s sixth birthday. Kamekona had brought the food (for a price) and everyone else had brought drinks and blankets to sit on. Lou and Renee sat leant up against one another on one blanket whilst Grace and Will had found a spare corner of blanket as far away as possible from parental eyes. Kamekona, Nahele and Jerry had chosen a spot nearest the food whilst Danny and Steve had spread out on a blanket all by themselves. Junior and Tani had also chosen to sit together and had ignored the raised eyebrows at their closeness. 

For once, Danny was relieved his son had chosen Steve to play with over him. He was still recovering from Charlie’s birthday party the day before where his house had been occupied by twenty screaming kids from his son’s class hyped up on sugar. He had gone to bed that night with a pounding headache. He sat back, using his arms propped behind him to watch the game of catch between his best friend and his son. 

Rachel followed Danny’s gaze and smiled. She sat beside Danny, her legs tucked underneath her and a plate of food resting on her lap. “He’s so good with Charlie.”

“Yeah” Danny agreed easily. Seeing Steve with Charlie always left a warm feeling in Danny’s stomach, a feeling he had been ignoring for a while. Steve always treated Charlie and Grace like they were his own and Danny was more than happy to share with him. He rolled his eyes at Steve’s antics, pretending for Charlie that he couldn’t catch the ball and then falling on the ground dramatically. Charlie was lapping it all up, laughing hysterically at Steve and demanding he do it again.

“Now I see why you always lose during the Thanksgiving game!” Danny shouted over. 

Steve stopped what he was doing and looked over at Danny with a shocked expression. “Excuse me? You’ve got things a little mixed up there Danno, because my team definitely won the last two games.”

“If, when you say win, you mean lose then yes, you did.”

Charlie, bored by the adult conversation, began playing with the ball on his own, kicking it around the grass and chasing after it. 

“Junior, back me up here,” Steve tried, placing his hands on his hips. 

“Oh no you don’t, this one’s a little biased,” Danny nodded in Junior’s direction.

“Hey!” Junior looked offended and Tani snorted. 

“Sorry Junes, but he’s right, you always take Steve’s si-” 

Tani was cut off by Rachel screaming. “ _ Charlie _ !”

Everyone at the picnic looked round at Charlie who was running after his wayward ball and wandering right into the main road. Both Rachel and Danny scrambled to their feet but Steve was closer. His lightning-fast reaction and longer legs gave him a head start. 

They all saw the car headed towards Charlie who stood frozen in the middle of the road, the red ball forgotten at his feet. The others had all begun running towards the road with Danny and Rachel the closest behind Steve. The car’s tires screeched, indicating the driver’s attempt to stop the car but it was too late, he was too close and the car had been going fast. Within moments the car would be on top of Charlie. Steve refused to let that happen. Forcing his body to go faster he launched into the road and used his momentum to firmly push Charlie out of harm’s way. He wasn’t fast enough to get himself out of the way and a second later he felt the sudden impact of the car hitting his body. He was forced up onto the bonnet, his head connecting with the windscreen. As the car finally came to a stop, Steve’s body rolled back down the bonnet and he dropped down onto the road like he was a ragdoll.

“Charlie!” Rachel screamed again and ran towards her son, passing Steve to drop to the ground next to her crying son. 

Danny couldn’t breathe. His urge to go to his son was overwhelming but Steve needed his help more. He fell to the ground beside Steve, loose gravel digging painfully into his knees as he assessed the damage. A moment later and Junior and Lou were by his side whilst Tani helped Rachel with Charlie. 

“Call an ambulance,” Danny instructed, not caring who actually did it. 

A shocked figure appeared from the car that had hit Steve, his face pale and his hands shaking “He came out of nowhere, I tried to stop.”

Danny ignored him, his focus on making sure Steve was okay. There was blood pouring out of a deep wound on Steve’s crown and his arm was resting at an odd angle indicating something broken or dislocated. From the force of the impact Danny knew there could also be other broken bones and internal bleeding, not to mention spinal damage. 

He was surprised when he heard Steve groan, expecting him to be completely out of it after the collision. 

“Hey” Danny greeted softly. Steve’s eyes fluttered open but they couldn’t focus and he frowned in confusion. “You remember what happened?”

“Dan-” Steve tried to speak but his face had begun to swell and Danny wouldn’t be surprised if he’d broken his jaw also. 

“Shh, don’t speak, the ambulance is on its way.”

When Steve got even more confused and attempted to sit up, Danny was forced to hold him down as carefully as possible. “Don’t move.” He manoeuvred around until he was position at Steve’s head and then used his hands to keep his friend’s head and neck stable. “Do you hear me, Steven? You need to lie still until help comes.” 

His throat felt tight and his heart pounded in his chest as he kept Steve as still as possible. Looking up, he saw Junior standing over everyone, his phone pressed to his ear and a worried expression across his face. Lou was knelt beside Steve’s side and was also trying to keep him from moving around too much. Lou’s sad eyes met his and Danny was forced to look away. 

Danny turned his gaze over to Charlie and Rachel, now sitting on the sidewalk out of danger. Charlie was still sobbing uncontrollably, his face red and blotchy as he held onto Rachel tightly. The urge to go console his son was strong and he had to fight hard against it. After witnessing Charlie coming so close to being killed, it physically hurt to be separated from him.

The sound of sirens in the distance was a relief and Danny let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. Looking back down at Steve, his eyes now closed, he couldn’t believe how quickly things had gone wrong. One second they were all enjoying a nice day out at the park and the next Steve was lying injured in the middle of the road. With his hands still holding Steve’s head firmly in place, he began stroking his thumb across Steve’s sharp cheekbone. He didn’t know if Steve could hear him but he kept talking anyway just in case. 

“You’re doing really well, just hold on okay? Help is coming.”

*****

Steve returned to consciousness slowly. His eyelids felt like lead weights, refusing to open as his mind fought against the deep sleep. It felt like he was stuck underwater and he was struggling to break the surface. As his mind began to clear, it started to piece together the clues to his location. He knew he was in a bed with various things attached to him. He could also hear the beeping of a heart monitor and there was a familiar antibacterial smell in the air which he didn’t like. 

“Steve?”

He recognised that voice. 

“Steve, are you awake? Can you open your eyes?”

Steve heard the request and tried to open his eyes. After a long couple of seconds, he finally managed to get one open and then the other. Thankfully the room was dark and his eyes were able to adjust quickly. 

“Hey” 

Steve’s eyes flicked over to the figure standing over him and focused until Danny came into view. Danny was smiling down at him. 

“Water?” Steve croaked. His mouth was as dry as a desert and there was a horrible stale taste on his tongue too. 

Danny acted quickly, reaching over to the cup on the nightstand and bringing it to Steve’s lips. He carefully poured a little bit into Steve’s open mouth, supporting the back of his head as he drank. Steve signalled a moment later that he’d drunk enough and Danny put the cup back down on the side.

“What time is it?” Steve frowned. 

“Late, you’ve been here a while. You remember what happened?”

As Steve thought back to what happened, the memories came flooding back suddenly and his eyes widened in horror. “Charlie!”

“Woah,” Danny placed a hand on Steve’s chest to calm him. “Charlie’s fine, I promise.”

“But-” Steve swallowed hard, “I pushed him...hard.”

“You pushed him out of the way of a moving car,” Danny reminded him. “He has some bruises and he was a little shaken up at first but the doctor’s cleared him already. He’s home with Rachel getting completely coddled.”

“Yeah?”

Danny nodded, “I’ll bring him round in the morning and you can see for yourself,” he offered. Danny knew Steve’s ability to feel guilt was staggering sometimes. He would have to work hard to make Steve see that he wasn’t to blame for Charlie being hurt. 

“I’d like that.”

“Until then, you need to rest.”

“How long am I out of action for?”   
  
Danny sighed, “A while...You have a dislocated shoulder, three cracked ribs, a punctured lung, a bad concussion, a bruised kidney and an ankle fracture.”

“Is that all?” Steve joked. So far the pain medication he was on was doing a good job of hiding all his injuries. 

“Too soon,” Danny frowned. 

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Steve raised his good arm and wrapped his hand carefully around Danny’s wrist “I didn’t mean-

Danny looked down at Steve’s hand, felt the warmth of his skin sinking into his own. “It all happened in slow motion,” He began, his voice barely a whisper. “I saw the car heading towards Charlie and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

“But you said he was okay?”

“He is,” Danny insisted, meeting Steve’s eyes again to assure him. “But he nearly wasn’t. The car would have killed him...if it hadn’t been for you.”

“Danny-

“No, please, I have to say this,” He interrupted. “There’s nothing more important to me than Grace and Charlie,  _ nothing. _ I would be lost without them. There’s nothing I can do, nothing I can say which could ever express just how grateful I am to you for what you did today.”

“I would do it again y’know.”

Danny nodded, “I know.”

The familiar warm feeling returned to Danny’s stomach and the feeling spread through his body the longer they kept eye contact. He was sure that Steve could feel his racing pulse under his fingertips. The feelings he’d been forcing to the back of his mind for months now had raced to the forefront since the smash and refused to be suppressed again. 

He didn’t know if Steve felt the same but he definitely knew what Danny was thinking. He always had. The knowing look in his eyes wasn’t followed by amusement or horror like he would have expected. Instead, Steve held on to Danny’s wrist a little tighter. 

“Stay, please.” he requested. 

“You need rest, you’re hurt” Danny argued. 

“Morphine is doing wonders,” Carefully, Steve shuffled himself over to the side of the bed, leaving Danny enough room to lie down beside him. 

“Are you sure?” Danny didn’t just mean the bed. He meant everything else too. 

“ _ Very. _ ”

Steve’s answer was enough for Danny and he delicately climbed onto the bed and lowered himself down beside Steve, resting on his side to give Steve more space. Before lowering his head onto the pillow, he toed off his shoes and they dropped onto the floor with two thuds. After getting comfortable, he found Steve’s hand and entwined their fingers together. Without words, Steve conveyed to Danny that the move was welcome with a squeeze. Danny squeezed back. 

Danny could already feel himself falling asleep when he heard Steve call his name. 

“Hmm?” Danny replied. 

“I would be lost too,” Steve said a few minutes later. “Without you, Grace, Charlie, I would be lost.”

They had exchanged 'I love you’s’ a number of times over the years but Steve’s words made Danny’s heart clench in his chest. With his eyes closed, he leaned across until his lips made contact with skin. The kiss landed on the corner of Steve’s mouth, a promise of so much more when Steve was better. “I know.”


	13. Adrenaline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #13 Adrenaline
> 
> This story is not particularly whumpy but hope you enjoy it anyway!

Steve’s heart pounded in his chest as he ran through the corridor. The weight of his bulletproof vest was slowing him down and forced his body to work harder. He had already chased their suspect through a busy street and then he’d ducked into the staff entrance for a large hotel. As he ran he had kept the others informed as they followed behind him. He’d always been the fastest on the team, more willing to jump over buildings and drop down from heights in pursuit of a suspect. This time was no different. 

Up ahead, he heard the sound of a door slamming and headed in the same direction. Around a corner, his eyes fell on an emergency exit door leading to the stairwell. Pushing through the door he stopped and listened. When he peered down in between the flights there was no sign of Brian Hastings but he could hear footsteps above him. 

“I’m in the stairwell, he’s heading up,” he said as quietly as possible into his radio, not wanting to alert Brian that he was still close behind. Looking up at the multiple flights he took a deep breath and began taking the steps two at a time. 

“Hey,” Danny’s voice came clearly through his ear-piece, “I’m right behind you, don’t do anything stupid.”

Steve’s head shot up as he heard the roof access door open and close. “You and I have very different definitions of stupid.”

“Yeah, the correct one and yours.” 

Steve huffed out a laugh as he continued to climb the stairs. He was nearly at the roof. “Better hurry up, he’s up on the roof.”

“I’m on my way.”

At the door, Steve raised his handgun and slowly pushed the door open with his foot. He was on full alert, adrenaline rushing through his system. For most people, this would be where the fight or flight response kicked in, but Steve had never run from a fight, it wasn’t built in him to do anything else. 

The immediate area was clear as he stepped outside onto the roof but he kept vigilant. Brian wasn’t an evil genius but Steve couldn't underestimate him. 

He didn’t want to move too far from the door. If he let it out of his sight it would be easy for Brian to double back and head back down the stairs. Even if Danny was on his way up, he couldn’t risk a suspected murderer getting away from them. 

“There’s no way off this roof Brian!” He shouted. 

“I’m innocent!” Brian shouted back. Steve spun to face the direction the voice had come from and began moving towards it. 

“If you’re innocent, come in and prove it!”

“I don’t trust cops.”

“Good thing I’m not a cop.”

“You’ve got a badge and a gun, you’re a cop,” Brian sneered. 

Steve knew he was close now and slowed down. He checked every corner and hiding place, gun first. 

“Geez I hate stairs,” Danny moaned in his ear, sounding a little breathless. “I’m nearly there.”

“Brian...you give yourself up and you have my word we’ll investigate your side of things.”

Brian didn’t respond. Steve's eyes stayed sharp and he listened carefully for any sounds cluing him in to Brian’s location. 

The noise of something clanging against metal on his left had him spinning around again. He realised too late that it was a distraction, that Brian had thrown something in the opposite direction. He didn’t see Brian launch himself at Steve. They both fell to the floor, the gun falling out of Steve’s hands as he impacted the concrete. The air was forced from his lungs as Brian fell on top of him. Brian’s hands went to Steve’s throat and began to squeeze. 

With the little oxygen Steve had left, he pushed a fist into Brian’s ribs, forced his knee up into his groin and pushed him over. Brian had no choice but to let go and Steve quickly sucked in a few deep breaths. 

“Not the way an innocent man behaves y’know,” Steve grunted, quickly scrambling to his feet. Brain did the same and raised his fists up in a defensive pose. 

“I’m not going back to prison, I can’t go back.”

“Too late for that.” 

Brian lunged for Steve and Steve used all his hand to hand combat skills to block fists and land some of his own punches. 

“Steve!” He heard Danny shout, the voice coming from the roof somewhere and not through the earpiece. 

Steve’s reaction to his name being called gave Brian an opening and Steve was pushed hard, forcing him off balance. As he toppled over, he hadn’t noticed before just how close to the edge of the roof he was. The brick wall circling the roof was low enough that it did little to stop Steve when he began to fall. With a split second to react, Steve twisted his body and barely managed to grip the edge of the wall with one hand as he went over the edge. His body swung and he crashed into the side of the building. He yelped at the force of the impact, his hand barely holding on as he was jerked around. 

Glancing down, his eyes took in the long drop to the ground. It had to be over two hundred feet and whilst he’d survived a lot over the years, he knew he couldn’t survive that. He forced his eyes up, expecting Brian to be looking down at him. It would be easy for him to loosen Steve’s grip. Instead, he was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t see anything from his position and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on for. His left hand had already begun to ache from supporting his entire weight whilst he tried carefully to reach up with his right hand for extra support. 

Noises from the roof above him caught his attention and the crack of two gunshots filled the air. Steve’s chest seized as he realised it was Danny up there fighting with Brian. 

“Danny!” He called out. When there was no answer straight away Steve began to panic, his mind racing to figure out how to get himself out of his situation. 

“Steve?” He heard Danny shout but the relief was temporary as his fingers slipped further and his arms started to burn from the strain. 

“Danny!” He called again. “I can't hold on much longer!”

Danny’s face appeared over the edge and he swore. Without hesitation, he reached down and wrapped an arm around Steve’s left bicep. “I’ve got you” He assured Steve. Danny’s fingers dug into Steve’s muscle as he began pulling. 

“Come on!” Danny looked pained as he used everything he had to lift Steve back up. Steve gritted his teeth as he grabbed hold of the wall with his other hand, his muscles screaming as they were stretched to their limit. Danny was strong but Steve knew his height and muscle made him heavy. The longer it took, the more tired Danny would get. 

Danny leant back, using his weight to help lift Steve. Soon, Steve's head appeared over the edge of the wall and he was able to hook an arm over the top. Danny’s hands grabbed Steve’s vest and between the two of them were able to pull Steve’s body back over the edge and onto solid concrete. 

Steve lay on his back and gasped. Beside him, Danny was catching his breath and rubbing his sore arm. 

“That was close,” Steve gulped. 

“Too close.” 

Steve looked over to see Brian lying a few feet away, a puddle of blood seeping out from underneath him. 

“You know what?”

“What?” Danny sighed. 

“I suddenly empathise with all those dirtbags I’ve hung off roofs over the years.”

Danny chuckled, “Well I’m glad you’ve learned something from this misadventure.”

Steve grinned at Danny, “Didn’t say I would stop.”

Danny just shook his head at Steve. He shuffled over and leant back against the wall. Steve’s whole body ached as he moved to sit beside him. 

“Thanks by the way,” Steve patted Danny’s thigh. “For y’know.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Danny waved him off. 

“I mean it, I owe you one.”

Danny’s eyebrows shot up. “Just one?” He repeated. “This is not the first time I’ve saved your life, Steven, I’m keeping a damned list.”

“Oh, so that’s how this is going? In that case, I have my own list.”

“Not sure yours can top donating an organ but go ahead.”

“Seriously, let that go already.”

“Speaking of letting things go, remember how I  _ didn’t _ just now?”

“Oh my God, I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”

The expression on Danny's face told Steve all he needed to know.


	14. Tear-stained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #14 Tear-stained
> 
> This one is a bit dark and angsty, hope you enjoye!

Joanie’s body trembled as she held onto Steve tightly. The young girl was afraid of the dark and they had been thrown into a shipping container with only a sliver of light coming through a vent in the top corner. Steve blamed himself for getting his niece caught up in a dangerous situation. He’d taken her out for the day to give Mary a day to herself, but trouble always had a way of finding him. 

When the crew had first surrounded him he’d fought back, screaming at Joanie to run but her short legs were no match for the bad guys and she’d been grabbed before she could get very far. Steve had no choice after that to let them take him. They hadn’t been nice about it either. He could feel his cracked ribs shift every time he took a breath, one of his eyes had closed up from swelling and there was a good chance his right wrist was fractured from where they had twisted it hard behind his back. Sitting on a cold metal floor after the punches and kicks his body had been dealt was not a pleasant experience. 

Apart from being scared, Joanie was unharmed. Her smaller hands hadn’t let go of their tight grip on Steve’s shirt since they were taken and her tears had stained his sleeve. All Steve could do was keep comforting her and try and keep her oblivious to the pain he was in. 

He hadn’t been told why they had been taken yet. It couldn’t be for money and they hadn’t been working on any high profile cases which might provoke a kidnapping. For a brief moment he worried that Joanie had been the target and Mary had got herself into trouble again but he knew his sister would never do anything that would result in her daughter being harmed in any way. 

What worried him more was how long it had been since they were taken. The light had begun to set through the vent and the temperature was dropping. When Joanie started shivering he pulled off his overshirt to wrap it over her, gritting his teeth as he contorted his body to lift it off. 

“Shhh,” he stroked her hair to soothe her, “Uncle Danny is looking for us and you’ll be home with mommy in no time.” 

He had no idea if Danny was looking for them, he just had to hope that Mary had called for help when they hadn’t turned up at the expected time. 

The sound of the container being unlocked and opened had him jerking up. Joanie whimpered as he stood up, putting his body between their captors and his niece. 

“What the hell do you want?” He snapped at the three masked men that stepped into the dark space. 

They said nothing as one of them moved to the side and pulled out a gun from the waistband of his trousers. Steve’s heart pounded his chest at the thought that he wouldn’t be making it out of the container alive which meant that neither would Joanie. He had failed to keep her safe. When the man aimed the gun at Joanie, Steve growled protectively and shielded her. 

“You point that thing at me, not her, you hear me?”

The second of the three men pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket. He turned the flashlight on and pointed the phone in Steve’s direction. 

The third and final man stood calmly in front of Steve. Silently he rolled up his sleeves and walked towards him. 

Steve could see what was coming. “Joanie, close your eyes, now!” He ordered. She continued to sob but Steve was relieved to see her do as she was told when he flicked his eyes down to check. Hands grabbed his shirt and he was yanked away from Joanie and into the middle of the container where he was pushed to the floor. The first man continued to aim his gun at her, a clear message to Steve what would happen to her if he caused any trouble. 

The phone followed him and Steve quickly realised they were filming the whole affair, for what reason Steven didn’t know. He didn’t have time to worry about it either as the third man’s large presence loomed over Steve. 

The first fist connected with his face, re-opening the cut above his eyebrow from his earlier encounter with the men. His attacker didn’t wait for him to recover and kicked him in his side, his broken ribs crunching from the impact. Steve grunted, suppressing the need to cry out in pain. He couldn’t, not in front of Joanie when she was already terrified. A foot rose up and slammed back down on Steve’s knee. 

The beating went on for what felt like hours but couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Every part of Steve hurt but he forced himself to sit up drag himself back over to Joanie. The three men left as quietly as they had arrived and only then did Steve sag against the wall. 

“Uncle Steve?” Joanie’s eyes were still closed as she reached out towards him. 

“It’s okay,” he told her even though he could taste blood in his mouth as he spoke, “Everything’s okay”. 

She fell asleep not much later, exhausted from the day’s events. She curled up in a ball in Steve’s lap and stayed that way throughout the night. Steve couldn’t sleep. He sat with his hand against her back and used the pain coursing through him to stay alert, not knowing if the men would return or not. 

When it started to get light again, a crack of light between the doors caught his eye. He carefully slid a still asleep Joanie onto the floor and crawled across the container's length to check it out. The door was unlocked. Why they had left it unlocked he didn’t know but it was an opportunity he couldn’t ignore. Slowly, he pushed the door open an inch or two and checked to make sure there was no-one outside. He opened it a little further and checked again. Once he was fully satisfied they were alone, he pushed the door open completely and took in the abandoned lot the container was sitting in. 

Turning back to his niece, he reluctantly woke her up. She started crying again as she realised she was still in the container. Steve used his thumb to wipe away the teardrops that fell from her eyes. 

“Come on, the door is open, you and I are going home, I promise,” 

Even though she had managed to sleep he knew she was still tired. She hadn’t eaten since lunchtime the day before so was weak too, there was no way she would make it too far on her own steam. He had no choice but to lift her up and carry her. Her arms wound around his neck tightly and she pressed her face into his neck. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he supported her with one arm around her waist and the other under her thigh. 

Every footstep sent sharp shooting pains through his chest and down his legs but he had no choice but to keep going. He’d been through worse, he told himself, he had to get Joanie home, no matter what. 

He wasn’t entirely sure where on the island he was. The empty lot they had been taken to was in the middle of nowhere. He found a road after ten minutes of walking and was left with a 50/50 choice of direction. He chose right and started making his way down the side of the road, keeping his ears and eyes out for any cars. It was still early in the morning and Steve was worried he wouldn’t find help for miles. 

It was half an hour and three cars later before someone stopped. Another forty-five minutes before he was being wheeled into a hospital, Joanie still clinging to his side. Anytime someone tried to remove her she started screaming so the medical staff had no choice but to work around her. Steve didn’t like the idea of his niece being out of his sight anyway, not until Mary arrived. 

Mary looked terrible when he saw her walk into the ER half an hour later. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all which wasn’t surprising. She was wearing the same clothes as the day before too. Her eyes scanned the room and quickly spotted her brother and daughter at the far end. 

“Joanie!” She cried and cross the distance at full speed. 

Joanie sat up at her mother’s voice “Mommy!” She opened her arms just as Mary arrived to pull her daughter into a tight embrace. 

Steve was so caught up in watching mother and daughter reunite that he hadn’t spotted Danny storm into the ER after Mary and join them at Steve’s bed. 

“You look like hell” Danny exclaimed, his eyes giving Steve a once over. 

Steve could only imagine how bad he looked. His doctor had already listed out his many ailments including the broken ribs, the fractured wrist and cheekbone, the head injury, the contusions and the abdominal pain from a potential bleed in his belly. They couldn’t confirm on the ultrasound but wanted to keep a close eye on Steve just in case he needed to go up to surgery quickly. 

“What the hell happened?” Danny asked. 

Steve didn’t reply, instead, his eyes slid over to Joanie, happier now she was in her mother’s arms. Mary caught him looking and looked back at him with moist eyes. 

“Look at you,” She breathed, reaching across to run a gentle hand through his hair, still holding on tightly to her daughter with her other hand.

“Just a scratch,” he replied, causing her to roll her eyes. 

“You kept her safe out there.”

“I- Steve swallowed hard. He wanted to disagree but he couldn’t form the words. “I’m sorry.” 

Mary frowned. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Steve’s eyes fell to his hands in his lap “Except I think it was.”

**************

The email arrived in his inbox a week later. He had been discharged a few days after being admitted, the doctors confident that whatever internal bleeding there had been, had stopped. 

He wasn’t supposed to be checking his emails. Danny had been caring for him since he had been discharged and was determined that Steve not rush his recovery, especially with any work-related stress. Danny knew how bad of a patient Steve could be when off for an extended period of recuperation. When Danny had left earlier that day to run some errands and check-in at the office, Steve had waited for the sound of Danny’s car driving away before he shuffled downstairs and hunted for his laptop. 

The email sat in between forensic reports he’d been copied into, get well soon messages and some crime statistic reports the governor had sent over to him to look at when he was feeling better. There was no subject line and the sender was a temporary email address Steve knew Jerry wouldn’t be able to trace. 

With a double click, the email opened and a chill ran down his spine as he read the message.

_ Taking you was effortless, hurting you was fun. Now we’ve shown you how easy it is to get to you, let’s do it again sometime.  _

He clicked on the attachment, even though he already knew what it was. The video footage was grainy and the lighting not great but he could make out his own face on the screen. He watched himself be beaten, the agony visible on his face as he held in his cries. When the short film ended, he pressed play again and watched it through a second time, and then a third. 

When Danny finally arrived back at Steve’s, the laptop was sitting open on the coffee table, the video paused halfway through. Danny didn’t see Steve sitting on the lanai as he rewound the video to the start and pressed play. 

Danny’s face when white as he watched Steve be hurt so callously. He watched it all the way through and then went back to read the email. Only then did he go in search of Steve. 

“You watched it?” Steve guessed from the expression on Danny’s face. 

Danny nodded, “Yeah.”

“Me too.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

Steve returned his gaze to the ocean in front of him. “It’s strange, seeing it happen like that, like it was happening to someone else.”

“You know why they took you now.”

“Yeah...they wanted to send a message, they wanted me to know they could get to me at any time, that they have power over me.”

“That’s why they let you go.”

Steve let out a hollow laugh, “They were just toying with me and they used Joanie to do it.”

“We’ll find them Steve,” Danny promised. 

“Until then, maybe Mary and Joanie should go back to the mainland.”

Danny frowned. “You’re sending them away again?”

Steve looked back at Danny, “What choice do I have? If they stay here they can be used against me, I can’t put them in that position again.”

“We can protect them.”

“And if we don’t find the people responsible? What then? We can’t protect them indefinitely. It’s safer if they go...I won’t be able to rest until I know they’re away from here.

Danny sighed. Deep down he knew Steve was right. He also knew how hard it had to be for Steve, sending his family away to protect them. 

“We’ll find them,” Danny repeated. “And we’ll make them pay.” 

Steve nodded. He would be healed soon. When that day came, he would turn the island upside down to find his kidnappers. 

After he saw Mary and Joanie off at the airport, their plane heading to San Francisco where Steve knew Chin would look out for them, he returned home and reopened the email. 

He typed a simple message back and pressed send. 

_ Run. _


	15. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #15 Scars
> 
> This chapter is established McDanno. Something a little angsty and a little bit soppy. Enjoy!

Steve woke with a gasp. The nightmare that had woken him had felt so realistic he could almost taste the blood in his mouth. There was a thin sheen of sweat across his body and the covers across his chest felt hot and constricting. He sucked in a few deep breaths then sat up. He immediately regretted it as the movement pulled at the stitches on his side and he hissed loudly.

With a wince, he looked over to check that Danny was still asleep. Danny’s insomnia was a reoccurring issue and Steve hated to wake Danny when he was asleep. He knew Danny was exhausted from sleeping in an uncomfortable chair beside Steve’s hospital bed the previous night and needed the rest. 

Steve, on the other hand, had been given some pretty heavy-duty painkillers and had slept through the night. After being discharged, Danny had ushered him up to their bedroom and he’d found it easy to fall back under. That’s what happened when you got a knife to the side and needed surgery to stop the bleeding. 

The painkillers had worn off and Steve was now wide awake. 

Carefully, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and lowered his feet to the cool wooden floor. He glanced back at Danny one last time as he stood up, needing to double-check that he was fine. The steady rise and fall of his chest satisfied Steve and he padded out of the door and made his way down the stairs. 

The night was warm enough and there were no kids staying over so he wasn’t bothered with walking around the house in his boxers. He crossed through the living room and entered the dark kitchen. The moon was bright enough in the sky that he didn’t need to switch the light on to navigate to the sink. Lifting a clean glass off the drying rack, he held it under the tap and filled it with cold water until it spilt over the rim and over his hand. 

He held the glass against his lips and drank until there was nothing left inside it. The water was cool and refreshing as it slid down his throat and left him thirsty for more. Pushing the glass under the tap, he filled it again and drank another few gulps before lowering the half-empty glass on the work surface. 

A part of him had hoped the water would make him feel better but there was still a tremor in his hand he couldn’t calm and the images from his nightmare were still vivid in his mind. He clenched his shaking hand and held it against his sternum. 

He knew he was off his game when he didn’t hear Danny’s feet on the creaking stairs. The first time he realised Danny had woken up was when the light switched on. Steve spun around in surprise, knocking the glass off the side with his elbow. It flew off the surface and crashed on the floor, sending water and glass shards flying. 

Danny blinked at the scene in front of him. A half-naked Steve stared back at him with wide shocked eyes, his face paler than normal and his bare feet were surrounded by a minefield of glass shards. 

Danny sighed. “Don’t move,” he ordered before disappearing out the door. 

He returned a moment later with a pair of shoes on and the combination of his pyjamas and the loafers would have been amusing to Steve if he was feeling like his normal self. Instead, he stood frozen on the spot as Danny grabbed a dustpan and brush and began clearing up the mess on the floor. 

“Okay,” Danny broke the silence once he was satisfied the floor was safe. “We’re all clear.” 

Steve didn’t move. 

“Steve?” Danny sent him a worried look. 

Steve swallowed hard, “I was back in the plane.”

Danny was taken aback. “What?”

“Just now, I was back there...It felt real, I could feel the bullets, the pain.”

Danny pressed his lips together as he tried to figure out what to say. Instead, he stepped into Steve’s personal space. Even with the gap between them, Danny could feel the body heat coming off Steve. 

“Let me check your wound,” He said quietly, waiting for a nod from Steve before he reached for the piece of gauze taped over the wound. Steve breathed in and out softly against Danny as he pulled back the tape and viewed the line of stitches along Steve’s side. 

“No sign of infection,” he announced, “That’s good." Carefully, he placed the gauze back and pressed down on the tape to hold it back in place. “It’ll probably scar.”

“Yeah, I know.” 

The light above them highlighted the lighter line of skin where Steve’s liver transplant scar was, just a few inches away from his latest injury. Danny wasn’t surprised Steve was dreaming of the airplane shooting. His newest wound was so close that his mind had clearly decided he should relive that day all over again. The painkillers couldn’t be helping the confusion either. Danny stared at the line and the nearby puckered scar from the bullet. Steve wasn't the only one who had nightmares about that day. It was the closest Danny had come to losing Steve forever.

Danny couldn’t resist tracing his thumb softly down the line and he felt Steve shiver, “You have too many of these.”

“Chicks dig scars.”

Danny smiled, Steve was already starting to sound more like himself. 

“You calling me a chick?”

Steve didn’t reply. Instead, he quirked his lips and ducked down to press them against Danny’s. Danny sank into the kiss with ease, his left hand sliding around Steve’s uninjured side and up his back, revelling in the expanse of warm skin he could touch. The kiss stayed soft and almost chaste, just a reminder that they were both alive and together. Reluctantly, Danny pulled back a few seconds later. 

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

“I’m not sure I can sleep,” Steve confessed. Admitting weakness was still a new thing for Steve, but with Danny, it didn’t feel like he was exposing himself up to something scary and dangerous. Danny didn’t make him feel vulnerable, he made him feel stronger. 

Danny didn’t look concerned by Steve’s words. Instead, he guided Steve out of the room and into the living room. On his way back upstairs he diverted to the bookshelf to pick out a book he knew they had both read and enjoyed. He tucked it under his arm and returned to Steve’s side. He pushed Steve ahead of him as they climbed the stairs, the narrow steps not allowing them to walk side by side. 

Once in the bedroom, Danny pulled back the covers to let Steve lower himself back onto the sheets. He tucked Steve in carefully and the climbed in beside him, sitting up against the headboard to allow Steve to rest his head on Danny’s lap. 

As Steve was getting comfortable, Danny reached over and switched the bedside light on. The warm light filled the room and gave Danny a perfect view of Steve curled against him. He smiled as he cracked open the book, found the first page and began reading. 


	16. Pinned Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #16 Pinned Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was an absolute beast to write so I hope you enjoy it!

“Will you please slow down!” Danny grabbed onto the handle above the window as the car swerved sharply to the right. If he hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt he probably would have ended up in Steve’s lap. 

“I don’t want to lose them Danny.”

“If you go any faster we’ll lose our _lives._”

Danny didn’t particularly like how close the car was to the edge of the road as they chased their suspect. There wasn’t much past the edge apart from a slope down to the ocean. 

“What did I tell you about backseat driving huh?”

“I remember you opening your mouth and words coming out but that’s about it.”

“Funny.”

Steve pressed his foot down on the gas a little more and Danny glared at him. 

So far the roads had been relatively clear, allowing the Camaro to stay up close to the suspect’s Jeep. Every now and again the suspect was held up by a car in front and was forced to slow down until they could overtake. The Jeep then accelerated away from them hard as Steve was forced to wait for his own chance to overtake. Without getting in front of the other car, they didn’t have much chance of stopping it. 

Spotting a clear stretch of road ahead, Steve made his move. Slamming his foot down on the gas pedal, he slid the car into the opposite lane. The faster Camaro was able to quickly catch up with the Jeep and then overtake it. 

Once in front, Steve pulled the car in front of the suspect. 

“Hold on,” he warned, barely giving Danny a second to grab onto something before he slammed on the breaks. 

Danny’s eyes slammed shut as the car decelerated suddenly, his body thrown forward and then back into his seat. 

The car behind started to break but the suspect didn't react quick enough. As the Jeep slowed down it attempted to curve around the Camaro to escape. The driver had misjudged the distance though and the corner of the Jeep caught the back end of the Camaro.

“Watch out!” Steve’s shouted a split second before the cars collided. His head was slammed sharply into the steering wheel from the force of the impact. 

Everything else happened too quickly to stop it. The heavier car shoved the Camaro hard, forcing it into a spin. The forward momentum then pushed the car off the road and over the precipice. 

Danny cried out as the car dropped suddenly, his stomach lurching like he was on some kind of fairground ride. As it fell it caught on a rock, forcing the car to flip over, gravity bringing it right side up again a moment later. Metal screeched, creaked and crunched as the car was battered and forced out of shape by each blow it was dealt. The windscreen was close to giving way, the window beside Danny had already shattered into a million pieces, Steve’s breaking a moment later. 

Unable to stop, the car continued at speed down the slope and there was nothing Danny could do but brace himself as it crashed into the sea. The impact of the car hitting the water and the soft sand underneath the wheels finally slowed the car down, stopping it from sinking too deep. The front end was still under the waterline and saltwater wasted no time in rushing through both the broken windows. 

As Danny came to, the water was already at their knees and filling up fast. His whole body ached like he’d gone ten rounds with a pro-boxer and it hurt to move but he knew he had no choice. 

“Steve?” He looked over at his best friend whose head was slumped to one side, a nasty bleeding cut in his hairline. “Steve!” He called again, reaching across to shake his shoulder. 

Steve’s head shot up and he winced at the fast movement. 

“You okay?” Danny asked. 

“Not really,” Steve croaked. 

“We need to get out now, this thing is filling up fast.” 

The water was now at their waists. 

Danny unbuckled himself and Steve and then half climbed, half swam out of the open window. Once outside, he turned around and held onto the wreckage, waiting for Steve. 

He watched Steve attempt to lift himself out of the seat and frowned when he dropped back down into the seat. He tried a second time, his teeth gritted and his muscles straining, but a moment later dropped back against the seat again. 

The water had reached Steve’s chest. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“Steering wheel has me pinned, you’re going to have to go get help, I’m not swimming out of here.”

“Steve-” Danny looked back at Steve with a sober expression. The water continued to pour in. Help wouldn’t arrive before the car was completely submerged. 

“Danny,” Steve returned his look with one of his own. His eyes wide and expressive as he tried to use them to say all the things he didn’t have time to say “I don’t exactly have the time to argue with you, you need to go, now.”

Danny didn’t want to leave but he knew Steve wouldn’t make it if he didn’t. His heart thudded and his body shook from the adrenaline rushing through his system. “Just hold you damn breath like the badass SEAL I know you are,” Danny ordered, “I’ll be back.”

“Not going anywhere.” Steve huffed.

Knowing that time wasn’t on their side, Danny scrambled onto dry land. He reached into his pocket and swore loudly at his cellphone’s blank screen, water dripping out of the casing steadily. He looked back at the car and saw the water had risen again. It looked like it was up to Steve’s shoulders. 

Without his phone, he was left with no other choice but to find one to borrow. He began climbing back up the slope, his wet clothes weighing him down at every step, but he refused to slow down. When he finally reached the road, he wasn’t surprised to find their suspect long gone. 

He looked left and right, searching for a nearby car for him to stop. He spotted a car heading his way and he quickly stepped into the road in front of it. Yanking his badge off his belt, he held it ahead of him, stood firm and hoped the car would spot him in time. 

The red Nissan came to a screeching halt, just a few feet from where Danny was standing. The driver peered through the windscreen at him like he was crazy. 

“You got a phone?” Danny called. 

The driver nodded dumbly. 

“Hand it over, it’s an emergency.” The driver climbed out of the car with his phone in his hand and Danny met him halfway, grabbing the phone out of the man’s hand. Danny ran back to the edge of the road, dialling as he went. 

He pressed the phone to his ear and tapped his foot impatiently as it rang. Steve had to be completely under by now.

It took longer than Danny liked but eventually, the phone was answered. 

“This is Captain Grover.”

“Lou! Don’t talk, just listen. Me and Steve were in an accident, Steve is still trapped in the car and it’s in the goddamn water.”

“Okay, okay, where are you?”

“On the one thirty-seven, just past Kamaili road. You need to hurry okay? Steve’s holding his breath out there right now, he doesn’t have a lot of time.”

“I’m sending help right now, me and Adam are on our way too, just hold on,” Lou promised. 

“I’ve got to get back to him. Tell the rescue team to bring a winch. There’ll be a guy in a red Nissan waving them down.”   
  
“Okay brother, stay strong, both of you.”

Danny hung up and turned back to the driver. “You,” he passed the phone back “You need to stay right where you are and wait for the rescue crew that’son its way, you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” The man nodded. 

A few minutes had passed since Danny had left Steve and he knew there was only so long he would be able to hold his breath for. “I have to go back to my friend, he’s relying on you,” Danny told him before racing back down the hill. He sucked in a deep breath, dove into the water and forced his head under the waves. He swam to Steve’s side of the car and pushed his head through the broken window. 

Steve’s eyes were closed, worrying Danny for a split second before Steve’s eyes opened. Their eyes met and Steve gave a slight shake of his head, enough for Danny to know Steve was reaching his limit. A limit that Danny would have passed long ago. There was only one thing he could do. He lifted his head out of the water, took another deep breath and sank under once more. Reaching through the window he grabbed Steve’s head with both hands and brought their lips together. 

Steve’s eyes widened in shock but quickly got with the program. Their mouths formed a tight seal and opened enough for Danny to breath into Steve’s mouth, delivering vital oxygen to him. 

He did it again thirty seconds later and again and again, slowly getting more tired and out of breath each time, but it was keeping Steve alive and that was all that mattered. Between breaths, he would search the waterfront for any sign of the rescue team. 

It felt like hours had passed by the time the lights and sirens of the rescue truck announced its presence. 

“Here!” Danny shouted from the water, his exhausted lungs unable to carry the sound far. Relief flooded his body as he spotted the Nissan driver point towards him from the road. He made a mental note to buy the guy a beer when it was all over. 

One of the rescue team members climbed down the slope, winch hook in hand whilst another was coming up behind with a small oxygen tank and regulator in his arms. Whilst the tank was on its way, Danny knew Steve would need another breath before it arrived and pushed back under to deliver another lungful of air. Steve who wasn’t looking so great. Even with Danny breathing for him he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. 

Danny rushed back to the surface. “Hurry, he doesn’t have much time,” he gasped out. He hadn’t realised how lightheaded he felt until he spoke. 

The first rescue officer nodded and waded into the water to hook the back of the car up to the winch whilst the second finally reached the water’s edge and dove in. Danny ducked under too and stayed close as the man swam to Steve’s window and forced the regulator into Steve’s mouth. Danny tensed up as nothing happened straight away but after a long anxious moment, Steve lifted his hand to the regulator in his mouth and breathed in. 

He hadn’t noticed the third team member enter the water to support Danny’s exhausted body. He refused to leave the water until he saw the winch start to pull the car from the water and even then he stubbornly stayed by the water’s edge until the car was fully clear. More members of the rescue team and two paramedics scrambled down the slope and Danny watched as they worked together to free a pale looking Steve from the wreckage, the oxygen tank and regulator replaced with a plastic mask. 

“Danny!” Danny looked up at the familiar voice calling his name and he caught sight of Lou and Adam standing on the road above him. 

Danny didn’t know what to tell them. He certainly didn’t have the energy to tell them anything even if he did know what to say. Instead, he shrugged at them and waved his hand towards the car. 

It took too long, in Danny’s opinion, for them to cut Steve free, but eventually he was pulled out of the car and slid onto a backboard. Danny followed the rescue crew back up to the road as they carefully carried Steve up as level as possible. Once on the road he was placed down on a gurney where the paramedics could assess him properly. 

“What the hell happened?” Lou asked when Danny was finally back on the tarmac. 

“Nothing good,” Danny sighed. He would tell them the whole story soon, when his body was no longer in panic mode. Until then, he focused his attention back on Steve who was somehow still conscious. A pale hand reached out unsteadily towards him and Danny understand what Steve needed from him. He slid his hand into Steve’s and squeezed it tightly, refusing to let go even when the paramedics lifted the gurney into the back of the ambulance. 

Danny sat down on the bench in the bus, trying to keep out of the paramedic’s way as she worked on Steve. She placed an IV into his arm and popped a pulse-oximeter onto his finger. 

Steve looked at Danny with tired, dazed eyes. “Gonna say I told you so?” He asked weakly. With the mask over his mouth and the siren going off Danny was only just able to understand him. 

“Yeah,” Danny replied softly. “But maybe tomorrow.”

Steve nodded, satisfied with the answer, and closed his eyes. Thankful that there would be a tomorrow for both of them, Danny turned his attention to the determined grip on his hand and the beeps relaying Steve’s strong heartbeat. 


	17. "Stay with me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #17 "Stay with me"
> 
> Time for Danny to get whumped again. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you watch Dirk Gently, you might notice a couple of references in this one. Bonus points if you spot them!

Steve was a control freak. He knew that about himself. It was hard not to know it when Danny reminded him on an almost daily basis. He liked to drive Danny’s car and he liked to be first through the door during a raid, it was who he was. Control was how he dealt with the chaos that had been a part of his life since he was a teenager. 

Losing control was the worst possible scenario for Steve. Not being able to fix something, not being able to change the outcome and being forced to control the chaos was the thing he feared the most. When he didn’t have control over a situation it felt like he was going to burst out of his skin. It left him agitated and restless, every muscle tense, his fuse short. Normally the only person who could calm him when he felt like that was Danny. Somehow he knew just what to say to get him to relax. 

There was no-one to sooth Steve this time. Not when the thing that was out of his control was Danny. Danny who was lying in a hospital bed, writhing in immeasurable pain. There was nothing Steve could do, that’s what the doctors had told him. He just had to wait for the drugs Danny had been injected with had left his system. When that would be the doctors didn’t know. 

The hardest moment for Steve had been when the medical staff had been forced to use soft restraints on his partner, too much of a danger to himself. Whilst it was hard seeing him tied down, it had been harder watching Danny scratch at his own skin. From what he understood from the explanation he’d been given, Danny’s mind was tricking him into thinking he was on fire, the millions of sensitive nerve endings under his skin playing along with the illusion and causing the pain he was experiencing. 

Steve could only watch as Danny cried out and writhed on the bed, struggling against the restraints. He understood torture better than most, knew what pain could do to the mind. If he could trade places with Danny, he knew he would do it without hesitation. He would rather be chained up in a room with Wo Fat and a cattle prod than be forced to watch what Danny was going through. 

It didn’t matter how hard it was for Steve, the anguish he felt at not being able to help. What mattered was Danny. Danny who had gone all the way to North Korea for him, to Afghanistan. Danny who had given him half his liver and a place in his children’s lives without asking for anything in return. If Danny could do all that for him, he could sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair beside Danny’s bed for however long it took. 

He blamed himself for how it happened and he knew the guilt would linger for a while. Shaking off blame wasn’t easy for him. He knew the world was not resting on his shoulders, it just felt like that sometimes, especially when it was his best friend’s life on the line. 

The chemist’s house had been cleared, everyone had relaxed. They were all caught off-guard by their terrorist climbing out of a crawl space, jabbing a needle into Danny’s neck and making his getaway. Steve had been outside talking to Duke at the time and watched as the man burst out the doorway and ran at top speed away into the thick jungle behind the shack he called home. Steve had already started to follow at pace when he heard Tani call his name, the panic he had heard in her voice had made him stop midstep and turn back to the house. The ambulance ride to the hospital was the longest of Steve’s life. 

He appreciated the team keeping him updating on the case whilst he stayed by Danny’s side. They had managed to catch their chemist a few miles down the road and was currently in rendition not saying much. Luckily the evidence they had found in his home was enough. 

Shifting in his seat to try and get some feeling back in his ass, his gaze never leaving Danny. He needed to be alert so he could be there for his partner the minute he needed something. Danny had bee muttering and mumbling for the last hour though Steve couldn’t tell what he was saying. Steve wasn’t even sure Danny knew he was there, the pain leaving him so detached from reality. 

He wanted to reach out to Danny. Hold his hand or stroke his hair but he knew his touch would just cause Danny more harm. 

His legs were jittery from restlessness and he knew there was only so much longer he would be able to sit in the chair for. There was so much pent up energy building up inside him he felt like he could run a marathon. He wouldn’t get far within the confines of Danny’s small hospital room but there was just enough space to stretch his legs and relieve some of the anxiety inside of him. 

When he stood Danny let out a noise that was half gasp, half sob. The hand closest to Steve stretched and reached towards him, tendons popping from the strain as the restraint kept his wrist firm against the mattress. Steve froze beside the bed. 

“Danny?” He said softly. 

“Don’t go,” Danny mumbled. 

“What?”

“Don’t go...stay...stay with me...please,” Danny begged, his eyes wet as struggled to focus on Steve. 

Steve heart almost broke right there. He plucked a tissue from the box on the nightstand and reached over to carefully wipe away the tears. There was a reason he had decided that no-one else from the team would see Danny in his current state. Grace and Charlie certainly wouldn’t be allowed to visit until Danny was feeling like himself again and could make the choice himself to see them. Danny hated to appear weak in front of people, especially his own children, Steve understood that. 

“Hey,” Steve forced himself to smile reassuringly at Danny, “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“Stay,” Danny mumbled again. 

“I’m here Danny...I’m here.”

It would be a long night, just the two of them. A doctor would appear every now and again to check on Danny’s progress. Slowly, too slowly in Steve’s opinion, the drugs began to wear off and Danny began to calm. Even though the pain was ebbing his body was still exhausted from the stress. Finally, after the longest night Steve could remember for a long time, Danny was able to close his eyes and sleep. Steve wasn’t so lucky and remained upright in the chair until his whole body ached. 

It was nearly lunchtime before Danny woke again. The restraints had been removed a few hours previously and once free he had curled up on his side and gone straight back to sleep. When his eyes cracked open, it was Steve his eyes focused on first. 

“How are you feeling?” Steve croaked, feeling twice his age after pulling the unexpected all-nighter. 

“Worse than you look,” Danny rasped back. He licked his dry lips. 

Steve’s spine cracked as he stood up and helped Danny drink some water. 

“Thank you...for staying.”

“I didn’t have any place to be but here for you Danno,” Steve finally reached out and placed his warm hand over Danny’s. “You never had to ask.”


	18. Muffled Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #18 Muffled Scream
> 
> Apologies this was late! I didn't get home until after midnight last night. Trying to catch up quickly!

Danny couldn’t listen any more. Every time the lights flicked and he heard the muffled screams coming from the room next door his heart clenched. 

He’d awoken just a few hours after being hit with a tranquillizer dart whilst walking over his car. The room he’d been left in was dark and dingy with just a bucket in the corner, they hadn’t even let him have something to cushion the cold concrete floor he was sitting on. The cuffs around his wrists were connected to thick chains affixed to the wall behind him, allowing just a short semicircle to walk in. The door was far out of his reach and any calls for someone to speak to him went ignored. 

He wasn’t alone though, that he had figured out quickly. Steve had been walking to the car with him, the pair heading back to his for drinks, pizza and a game after work. For a second he thought they had only taken him. If Steve was still out there he knew his friend would be out looking for him. But then he heard a metal door creak open and slam shut which sounded like it was for the room next door. 

He had pressed his body against the wall and listened to the voices, too mumbled to work out what they were saying. The next thing he heard was someone crying out, the voice immediately recognisable as Steve. The single bulb in Danny’s cell flickered briefly and it didn’t take a genius to work out just what they were doing to Steve in the next room. 

The lights flickered again and Steve’s voice cried out again, even louder. 

“Hey!” Danny shouted, not knowing if they could even hear him. “Leave him alone! Do you hear?!”

Again his shouting went unanswered. 

“You bastards!” He cried out when the sound of Steve being electrocuted for a third time filled his ears. “What the hell do you want?”

The sounds stopped soon after, their captors clearly not wanting to kill Steve by overdoing it. Danny heard the door open and close again and then silence. 

“Steve?” He pounded his fist against the wall. “Can you hear me?”

He worried for a second that Steve was too hurt to respond but then he heard a weak knock against the wall and he relaxed slightly. 

“Hold on okay? We’re getting out of here.” How Danny didn’t know exactly. It had to be late and their team members wouldn’t be expecting them in the office until the morning which means hours would pass before the alarm would be raised. He didn’t think Steve had that long, not if they came for him again. Danny also knew there was a strong chance they would be coming for him next. He knew the only way they would be getting out of there was if he found a way out. 

He tugged at the chains holding him, testing their strength. After a few hard pulls with no movement, he swore and sagged against the wall. He knew he would need something to pick the lock on the cuffs in order to get free. Scanning the room, he looked for something thin and long enough to slide into the lock mechanism. 

The floor was frustratingly clean of anything useful and so he turned his attention to the brick wall. Running his hands across every inch of the wall within reach, he refused to give up. Steve was depending on him. The rough red brick was old and crumbling in places and left dust and dirt all over Danny’s fingers. Hope started to fade when he couldn’t find anything. 

“Come on, Come on” He muttered to himself. If he had to check the wall twice he would. He wondered briefly if captors would have something on them that he could take but they had yet to visit him and there was a good chance they would be smart enough to stay out of his reach. He was figuring out how to get them into the room when his fingers skimmed over something metal protruding from the brick. Freezing, he slid his hands back where they had come from and found the metal again. 

Taking a closer look, he realised the metal was a nail, leftover he presumed, from some kind of sign or picture. It was sunk firmly into the wall but with a bit of wiggling and pulling he was sure he could pull it free. 

“Steve?” He called through the wall, his voice buoyed by the plan that was coming together. “Whatever they want, don’t give it to them, just hold on!”

He was pleased with the progress he was making with the nail, even though his fingers were sore from pulling at the thin piece of metal. It just wasn’t fast enough he realised when he heard the dull sounds of the door opening and closing again. Their captors were clearly impatient and wanted whatever information they needed as soon as possible. They had barely given Steve time to recover before the lights flickered again. Steve’s yell sounded more like a scream and Danny knew there was only so many more shocks his friend could take before the damage was irreversible. The pain had to be immense too for Steve to be crying out like that. Every time he heard Steve call out in pain, his body went cold and his whole body tensed. Why they were hurting Steve and not him he didn’t know. 

The screaming made Danny work harder and faster, not caring if his nails broke or his skin cracked. It was a tiny price to pay to get them out of there. When they stopped for a second time, Danny held his breath and waited. 

Suddenly he heard footsteps outside of his room and he scrambled away from the wall. A second later there was a clank as the door was unlocked and then it swung open. Danny watched the two men enter warily. They didn’t bring any equipment with them but he kept on full alert just in case. 

“What the hell do you want with us?” He demanded, “What have you done to my partner?”

“What _ you _have done.” The first man corrected. His expensive suit and lack of weapon singled him out as the boss. The man behind him stood all in black, his hands clasped behind his back and gun clipped to his waist. “It is because of you that the commander has to be punished.”

Danny’s eyes widened, “I don’t even know you, what could I have possibly done to you?”

“You know where my older brother is,” The man answered, “and until you tell me what you know, I will continue to hurt him.”

“Your brother?” Danny repeated. There was a bitter taste on his tongue as he spoke. 

“Ricky Ricci.”

Danny’s stomach dropped at the name. A name he hadn’t heard since he lived in New Jersey, “I crossed him off my Christmas card list a decade ago.”

“Funny,” Ricky’s brother smirked, “I wonder how funny it will be when we increase the voltage next door?”

“I don’t know where he is okay?” Danny launched towards the man but was held back easily by the short chains. 

His captor laughed. “You better start searching that memory of yours, because I promise this won’t stop until I have an answer.”

The two men turned to leave. 

“You think you scare me?” Danny growled. They turned, Ricky’s younger brother raised an eyebrow at him. “You think by hurting Steve you’ll get me to talk? The US government spent half a million dollars training that man to withstand _ hell _, so you can shove your demands up your ass, I’m not telling you shit,” he spat. 

The man bowed his head “Then so be it.”

Danny watched them leave, relieved that they didn’t immediately return to Steve’s room. Once their footsteps faded away, he returned to the nail in the wall. 

It took him another half an hour to get it free. Thirty minutes too long in Danny’s opinion. Thirty minutes interupted by Steve being tortued for a third time. Danny couldn’t let there be a fourth time. When the nail finally slid free from the brick, he pushed the rusted metal into the lock of his cuffs. He wasn’t an expert lock picker but he’d done it a few times over the years. After getting handcuffed to Lori he had encouraged himself to learn. Another few minutes of pure frustration passed before the cuff clicked and opened, freeing him from his restraints. 

The door was the next challenge. The lock was more fiddly but eventually, he was able to force the lock to click open. He opened the door slowly and peered out into the hallway, relieved to see it empty. They must have assumed their chains would be enough to keep them secure. They had underestimated them both. 

It was easy to unlock Steve’s door from the outside and he quickly entered the room. When his eyes fell on Steve’s body he grimaced. 

“Oh jeez.” 

Steve was lying on his side in the corner of the room, his hands and feet both chained. His eyes were closed and his whole body was trembling, a leftover effect of the electricity, Danny surmised. 

“Steve?”

One of Steve’s eyes cracked open. 

“Dnn-y?”

“Come on, we’re getting out of here now.” 

With the rusty nail still held tightly in his hand, he rushed over to Steve and began unpicking the locks. Keeping one ear open for visitors, he worked quickly whilst Steve just lay there quietly. 

“Go,” he finally broke the silence after Danny had finished with Steve’s feet. “You go.”

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“Danny,” Steve whined. “I’m not sure I...I can’t-”

“If I have to carry you out of here I will,” he hissed. Steve didn’t argue after that. Once Steve was free, he dragged his friend over to the other corner behind the door and waited. Less than a couple of minutes later Danny heard footsteps and stood in position behind the open door. 

They noticed the open door quickly and Danny listened to the boss ordered his lackey to head in first. Danny waited, breath held as the lackey walked into the room gun first. As soon as he was through the door, Danny jumped. He grabbed hold of the gun with one hand to stop him from firing and punched the man in the head with his other hand. The force of his punch loosened his grip on the gun and Danny was able to wrestle it free. Another two sharp jabs to the head dropped the man to the floor and with a final kick to the face, he fell unconscious. 

Danny didn’t waste a second once the lackey was out of the way, he gripped the gun tightly and slipped out into the hallway. 

“Ricci!” Danny shouted. “I’m going to kill you and then I’m gonna get on a plane to New Jersey, find your brother and kill him too” He threatened. 

Ricci had found a gun from somewhere and Danny jumped back through the doorway when a pistol appeared from around the corner and started shooting. Danny counted the shots, waiting for the right moment to make his move. When he knew the magazine was empty he leapt back into the hallway and ran swiftly up the corridor, not knowing how much time it would take for Ricci to reload. Turning the corner with his gun held high, he saw Ricci standing there and aimed the barrel at his head. 

“Put the gun down,” He ordered slowly, the words coming out through his gritted teeth. Ricci didn’t move. “I said put the gun down!” Danny shouted. 

Eventually, Ricci dropped the gun and raised his hands in the air. “Now move” Danny spun him around and pushed him aggressively back in the direction of the cell Steve was still in. Ricci glared but moved, feeling the gun pressed against his spine. Danny led him to the room and over to the chains. “Cuff yourself” He ordered. Danny didn’t relax until the cuffs were firmly secured around Ricci’s wrists. 

“We’re going to go now. If you’re lucky I might call the police to come pick you up” Danny told him. 

Turning back to Steve who was slumped against the far wall, he went over to him and slipped his arm around his back, helping him to stand. Steve was heavy against Danny as he supported most of his friend’s weight. The stairs at the end of the corridor were steep and it took them five minutes to climb it, every step taking all of Steve’s energy. 

“Why?” Steve mumbled against him. “What did they want?”

Danny sighed as he guided Steve through the abandoned building they had been held in and out towards the street. They just needed to flag down some to call for help. “It was me they wanted,” he admitted to Steve. “I’m sorry...they hurt you to get to me.”

Steve nodded slowly. “Okay,” 

“Okay?” Danny repeated incredulously. “How can you be okay with that?”

Steve’s head rested on Danny’s shoulder as they stepped into the street. The sky was dark and the air was warm and muggy, much different from the cool basement that had been kept in. 

“Better me than you,” Steve uttered. “...It's okay.”

“God” Danny’s heart clenched again. “It’s really not.”


	19. Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #19 Breathless
> 
> This is one of the alternative prompts! Keep reading for another established McDanno story

Steve was sat on the edge of the bed when Danny arrived. He stood in the doorway for a moment and took in the sight in front of him. Just three weeks ago Steve had been in intensive care, a tube down his throat to help him breathe. Danny had spent a lot of that time at Steve’s bedside, hating to go home to an empty home, an empty bed. 

Whilst Steve had made a miraculous recovery and had improved enough to be discharged, they both knew he had a long road ahead of him to return to his previous strength. They had months of rehab, frustration, arguing and pain to look forward to. Even knowing that, Danny didn’t care. Steve was alive, Steve was coming home, that’s all that mattered to him. Steve could rant and rave all he liked, but Danny knew it wasn’t personal, and at the end of the day they would climb into bed together and that’s all Danny needed. 

“Are you ready?” Danny asked.

Steve’s head turned to look at him and he smiled. “Absolutely.” 

“I brought you some clothes,” Danny stepped into the room and lifted the bag in his hand to show Steve. He crossed the room and stopped in front of Steve, his thighs pressed into Steve’s knees. “Need some help?”

“I’ll manage,” Steve assured him, taking the bag out of Danny’s hands and slipped past Danny to go change in the bathroom.

Steve was gone for five minutes when Danny rapped his knuckles on the door. “You okay in there?” Worry filled Danny when Steve didn’t reply. He twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open. 

“Oh, Steve,” Danny exhaled. 

Steve was sat on the closed lid of the toilet in just his boxers, half a sock on one foot. His face was pale and there was a mix of frustration and determination in his eyes. Danny knew how much Steve hated asking for help, even from him, even though they’d been together for nearly two years. It was too hard for the SEAL to admit weakness. Danny didn’t stop trying to show Steve that he didn’t care, that he would never see Steve as weak. 

“Okay,” Danny crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him. Without saying another word he knelt at Steve’s feet and pushed the loose sock up his foot properly before doing the same with the other sock. Steve’s eyes followed his every movement as he shook the t-shirt out and pushed it over Steve’s head. His arms were loose and malleable as Danny gently lifted each one and fed them through the sleeves. Once his arms were through, he tugged the shirt down Steve’s chest, being extra careful when passing the long line of stitches on Steve’s side. 

Out of the bag, Danny retrieved Steve’s favourite pair of sweatpants, so well worn they were soft against his skin. Danny wouldn’t admit to Steve that he’d worn them on the few nights the nurses had thrown him out of the hospital to shower and sleep. 

“Stand up,” Danny instructed quietly. 

Once standing, Danny knelt back down again and Steve steadied himself with a hand on Danny’s shoulder as he lifted Steve’s left foot then right to pull the sweatpants on. Steve kept still as Danny rose up from the floor, lifting the waistband of the sweatpants up his legs as he went. Once they were all the way up and over Steve’s hips, Danny tied the strings to keep them secure. 

“How’s that?” He asked, his hands resting on Steve’s waist, his body comfortable in Steve’s personal space. He’d missed being so close to Steve that he could feel his body heat, so close he could smell Steve’s distinctive scent. 

“Thank you.”

Danny smiled and pushed in closer for a quick kiss, a silent ‘you’re welcome’.

Steve sat back on the toilet seat briefly for Danny to slide some shoes on and then the couple exited the bathroom. 

Nurse Lai was waiting for them when the appeared, her hands gripping the handles of an empty wheelchair. 

Steve scowled. 

“Does he really have to?” Danny asked. 

“It’s hospital policy, surely by now you two know that?” Lai pushed. 

“Fine, but I’m pushing,” Danny insisted. Lai let go of the handles and raised her hands in surrender. 

“This is the part where I normally say please don’t return anytime soon,” she said, halfway out the door. “But you’re here so often I’m hearing word they’re going to name a ward after you.”

Steve gave her a weary eye-roll as he lowered himself into the wheelchair. “Bye Hana.”

“Goodbye Commander,” She smiled at both of them and then with a twist of her hips turned and walked away. 

Danny quickly gathered the last of Steve’s belongings with had temporarily migrated to the hospital, throwing them all into the bag he’d arrived with, then placed the full bag on Steve’s lap. He couldn’t help but take one last glance at the hospital bed Steve had been in until recently before facing the door and pushing Steve out. 

They moved through the hospital in comfortable silence, along the long corridor, down the elevator and through the maze of hallways until they reached the exit to the parking lot. 

Danny pushed the brake on with his foot and placed a supportive hand on Steve’s shoulder as he lifted himself up out of the chair. “Stay here.”

“Where am I gonna go?” Steve argued. 

Danny ignored him and pushed the wheelchair back into the building, parking it next to a row of abandoned wheelchairs and then returned to Steve’s side. 

“I had to park quite far away, why don’t you wait here whilst I go get the car.”

“I can walk Danny,” Steve said grumpily. “I’m not an invalid.”

“Okay,” Danny agreed reluctantly. “It’s this way,” he nodded over to the left.

They walked slowly, side by side through the rows of cars. The further they walked, the slower Steve moved, Danny slowing to keep pace. He wanted to offer to get the car again but he knew that wouldn't go down well. Steve wanted to prove he was still strong and there was nothing Danny could say to make him see that didn’t care if he could walk a hundred miles or just a hundred feet. Steve was stubborn, it was part of who he was, but it was that stubbornness that had kept him alive when in the ICO. Danny could hardly complain about that. 

When they finally arrived at the Camaro Steve was pale and breathless. Danny wouldn’t be surprised if he slept the whole journey home. Danny propped Steve up against the door whilst he threw the bag into the trunk and then walk back around to Steve’s side. He paused there, watching for a moment as Steve attempted to catch his breath. The sight made him want to take him back inside, insist they double-check, but he knew Steve had just pushed himself too far too quickly. 

He couldn’t stop himself from stepping back into Steve’s personal space and lowering his forehead to Steve’s chest. He felt Steve’s hand come to rest on the small of his back.

“You ready?” He asked Steve. 

Ready for what he wasn’t entirely sure. Ready to go home, ready for the next few months of rehab, ready for whatever was coming next for them. 

Steve’s lips pressed against Danny’s temple briefly, the hand on his back sliding around Danny’s waist to pull him tighter agaist Steve’s body. Danny closed his eyes and sighed, savouring the moment. 

“Always,” he heard Steve murmur into his head. “Always.”


	20. Trembling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #20 Trembling
> 
> This came out a lot more humorous than planned! I'm ignoring 9x12 for this. Hope you enjoy.

“Okay,” Danny began, attempting an encouraging smile at his daughter. “Seatbelt?”

She tugged at the seatbelt safely secured across her body. “Check.”

“Mirrors?”

Grace looked in the rearview mirror, adjusting it slightly, then checked her view in the wing mirrors, “All good,” she confirmed. 

Danny opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He narrowed his eyes at Grace. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“By this you mean pass my test, get a car and finally have some freedom?” She teased. 

“See, it sounds great but there’s traffic and gas is like, really expensive.”

“Danno,” She whined. “Don’t you want me to be a good driver?”

“I’d rather you not put yourself in the driving seat of a fast metal box at all thank you very much.”

“I could always get Uncle Steve to teach me,” She knew exactly how well that suggestion would go down. His daughter had learnt a thing or two about manipulation from her mother. 

“Over my dead body, he barely passed the test himself remember?”

Grace laughed, “Okay, then please can we go already?”

“Fine,” Danny sighed, trying to ignore the nagging fear in his mind about his daughter driving. At least the car was Rachel’s borrowed Mercedes and not the Camaro. “Start the engine.”

Her smile widened into a grin as she grabbed hold of the keys in the ignition and turned them. The engine rumbled to life. 

He watched her carefully as she put the car into reverse and then pressed her foot down on the gas. Grace’s foot pushed harder on the pedal and the whole car lurched backwards suddenly. 

“Woah,” Danny exclaimed. “Careful.”

The car continued backwards rapidly. Neither of them had seen the figure walking towards them, not until the wheels lifted up over something solid and there was a loud yelp. 

“Break!” Danny cried out. Grace let out a scared noise and slammed her foot down on the break. Danny reached across and put the emergency brake on. 

“What was that?” Grace asked, trembling in shock. Danny looked into the wing mirror and winced at the sight of a familiar-looking body lying beside the car. 

“I think you just killed Uncle Steve.”

Grace’s eyes widened in horror, “What?”

“Relax,” Danny reassured her with a pat on her shoulder, “It would take a lot more than your driving to kill that man, trust me,” he climbed out of the car to assess the damage done. 

Steve’s eyes were thankfully open when Danny knelt down beside him. “I see you’ve finally decided to act on those threats to kill me” He muttered. 

“Uncle Steve?” Grace jumped out of her seat and ran around the car. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you!”

Steve narrowed his eyes at Danny “Outsourcing the job are you?” 

Danny rolled his eyes at his friend’s dramatics. “You okay?” He slipped his left hand underneath Steve’s back and helped him up into a sitting position. 

“I think so,” Steve answered, “Help me up?” 

Danny and Grace took a hand each and pulled, Danny taking most of Steve’s weight. When Steve was back on two feet he cried out and quickly pushed all his weight onto one foot. He bent his knee and lifted the other foot back, using a hand on Danny for balance as he stood like a flamingo. 

“Uh-oh,” Danny said, looking down at Steve’s foot and then up at the pain in Steve’s eyes. “We probably should get that checked out.” Danny sent a concerned look at Grace whose bottom lip was wobbling. “Hey Monkey, it was just an accident okay?”

“Yeah Gracie,” Steve stroked his hand down her hair. “I’m sure it’s nothing, I know you didn’t mean it.”

“Come on,” Danny opened the door in the back and between the three of them managed to get Steve inside. Grace said nothing as she climbed in beside him and Danny slid into the driver’s seat. 

Even though Steve was in pain from whatever damage had been done to his foot, he couldn’t help but notice how upset Grace still was. There was a tremor in her hands and a paleness to her skin that Steve didn’t like. 

“Hey,” he reached across to rest his arm over her shoulders. “It really wasn’t your fault, I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t blame yourself.” 

“Really?” She asked softly. 

“Absolutely, if it’s anyone’s fault it’s your dad’s.”

“Say what?” Danny spluttered. 

“He’s the one who was teaching you, after all. It was _his_ responsibility.” 

Steve met Danny’s eyes in the rearview mirror and smirked at him. 

“And what about you hey?” Danny returned. “I thought SEALs were supposed to have good spatial awareness and fast reflexes, you know, like for when a car coming towards them.”

Steve shook his head and turned his attention back to his niece, “What I think your dad and I are saying Gracie, is that it most definitely wasn’t your fault.”

She seemed to relax hearing that and Steve gave her shoulder a squeeze. 

Danny glanced back in the mirror at his daughter, “Let’s not tell your mom about this though.” 

*********************************************************

“Well,” the doctor held the x-ray up against the lightbox and considered it carefully. “It could have been a lot worse.”

“Have I broken anything?”

“No clean breaks that I can see, but there are a couple of fractures,” he pointed with his index finger where there were two faint darker lines in the bone. “The orthopaedic nurse will be in soon to fit you for a boot, he’ll make sure to send you off with some crutches too.” 

“Thanks, doc.”

“Take some ibuprofen for the swelling and keep off it for four weeks. I’ll see you again then assess the recovery, you may need another couple of weeks to heal after that.”

Steve shook his hand and the doctor left him alone. Steve stared down at his foot and sighed. The fractures would mean he would be on desk duty for a while. He hated desk duty. His stairs at home would also be an issue whilst he was on crutches. The sound of the door opening wrenched him out of his thoughts and he snapped his head up to see who it was. 

“What’s the damage?” Danny asked after entering the room and stopping beside the bed Steve was resting on. 

“Two fractures, a boot, crutches and at least a month’s rest.”

Danny cringed, “That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I got hit by a car today and I came away with just a couple of fractures.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Danny smiled at Steve who returned it with one of his own. 

“Grace doing okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Danny answered, “She’s probably not going to want to get behind the wheel of a car any time soo- Danny stopped and narrowed his eyes at Steve. “Please don’t tell me this was the plan all along.”

“Why would this-” Steve motioned down to his swollen foot “-ever be a good plan?”

“Would explain how you missed the Mercedes reversing in your direction.”

“Good sleuthing there Detective Williams,” Steve rolled his eyes “And what if the car had run me over?”

Danny ignored the question. “I bet you had a mission name picked out too, like Operation Hermes.”

“You’re starting to sound like Jerry now with his conspiracy theories.”   
  
“And I notice you’ve not actually denied it yet.”

“If... _ if _ I was to come up with a plan like that, I  _ certainly  _ wouldn’t call it Operation Hermes.”

“No?”

“Operation Broken-Foot...obviously.”

Danny groaned. “You’re ridiculous.”

“But you love me anyway, right?”


	21. Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #21 Fever

Steve’s eyes flicked over to Danny and then back to the screen in front of them. Less than a minute later he glanced over again and frowned.   
  
“What?”

“Hmm?” 

“You keep looking at me.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.”

“Getting a little paranoid there Danny.”

Danny glared at Steve. “You think I don’t know when someone’s looking at me?”

Steve looked over Danny’s shoulder and met Tani’s eyes. 

“Everything okay Danny?” She asked. 

“I’m _fine_.”

“You sure?”

“Why are you asking?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“It’s just- Steve began. 

Danny spun away from Tani and faced Steve again “It’s just what?”

“You’re looking a little- Steve trailed off. He looked to Tani again. 

“Looking a little under the weather,” She said calmly. “We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Are you two serious?” Danny looked at both of them, moving his head back and forth like he was watching a tennis match. “It’s just a crappy cold, that’s what happens when you have kids, trust me, it’s nothing.”

“Okay,” Steve put his hands up. “But if you start feeling worse, I want you to go home. We can hold things down without you for a few days.”

“Sure,” Danny agreed “But things always go boom when I’m not around to reign you in.”

Tani snorted. Steve glared. 

“Sorry Boss but he’s kinda right there.”

“Can we please get back to the case?” Danny asked impatiently. “If you two are done mothering me?”

Tani grinned and returned her attention to the computer table in front of her. “There was no discernable evidence at the scene of the first fire because you know, fire burns all the evidence, but our arsonist got sloppy at the second fire, forensics found a petrol can dumped a block or so away and managed to pull off a print.” 

With a few taps against the table, the profile of a man popped up on the screens. 

“Keahi Akana, thirty-one years old, has lived in Honolulu all his life, has a single prior for driving a car onto the football field at Moanalua and torching it.”

“Sounds like our guy,” Steve agreed. “We got a fix on his location?”

“HPD has a BOLO out on him” Tani typed into the table again and a list of addresses popped up “In the meantime, we have a few places we can check out. He’s bounced around quite a bit over the years so we don’t have a definite address but there are few on record for him we can cross off the list, plus his mom’s house, she lives on Kealaolu Avenue.”

“Okay, split the list up, me and Danny will check one half, you and Junior can check out the rest,” Tani nodded and got to work. 

In the car on the way to the first address on their list, Steve couldn’t help but throw concerned looks at Danny. It had only been twenty minutes since they had finished their briefing with Tani and his partner was already looking worse. His skin was pale but there was a sheen of sweat across his brow that worried Steve. 

“Stop it,” Danny growled. “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

Steve knew there was no point in fighting his stubborn friend and with a sigh, turned his attention back to the road. 

The first address was a bust. No-one had been at the house for a few months by the looks of the mouldy plate in the sink and the creepy crawlies in the bath. Steve walked slowly back to the car, Danny even slower behind him. He wanted to say something but Danny had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want Steve interfering in his business. If Danny wanted to work when he was clearly unwell, Steve wasn’t going to stop him. He looked forward to the ‘I told you so’ he would be able to say when Danny would finally give in and go home. 

He kept quiet when Danny rested against the door of the Camaro briefly. He would normally be impatient to get to the next house on the list but instead, he bit his tongue and sat in his seat until Danny was ready to go. He didn’t miss Danny reaching over to the console and lowering the temperature of the aircon. 

The second address was also quickly crossed off the list. Keahi must have lived there at some point, the couple living there had found some post addressed to him, but they had never met him and had no idea where to forward the post onto. By the time Steve had finished chatting to the couple, Danny had climbed out of his seat and was resting heavily against the bonnet. His eyes were closed and for a second Steve wondered if somehow Danny had fallen asleep standing up. 

Danny didn’t stir when Steve crossed over the road to where the car was parked and stopped opposite him. Danny’s eyes snapped open when Steve pressed the back of his hand against his forehead. Before Steve could get a good idea of Danny’s temperature his hand was batted away sharply. It was the quickest Steve had seen him move all morning. 

Danny sent him an angry look but said nothing as he dropped back into the passenger seat. 

“I’m guessing he’s not there.”

Steve shook his head “Live there maybe a year or so ago, the tenants have no idea where he is.”

“Okay,” Danny’s head dropped back against the headrest and his eyes slid shut again. “Onto the next one.”

Steve opened his mouth ready to suggest he drop Danny off at home and continue on his own but he knew exactly what Danny would say to that. He hated seeing Danny so unwell, especially when his friend couldn’t or wouldn’t see he needed to rest. 

The final address on their list was their suspect’s mother’s house. They pulled up outside the house, a pretty looking bungalow within walking distance of the beach. Steve waited on the sidewalk for Danny to lift himself up out of the car and then the pair walked up to the house together. 

Once stood in front of the door, Steve lifted his hand and knocked hard three times. A few minutes later a short lady in her sixties answered the door. 

“Can I help you young gentleman?”

“I’m Commander McGarrett, this is Detective Williams, we’re with Five-0, we’re here about your son Keahi?”

As soon as Steve finished speaking he heard the sound of someone else in the house and a door opening and closing. “Danny, cut him off!” Steve ordered as he pushed past the lady and through the house. He tore through the back door just in time to see Keahi jump over the back fence. Steve went after him at full speed, running down the back yard and launching over the fence. His feet landing on the other side with a thud as Steve found himself in an alleyway between the houses. Quickly he scanned the area and saw him heading around the house and back to the front. 

“Keahi!” He shouted after their suspect “Stop!”

Turning the corner he stopped mid-stride as Keahi stood with his hands high in the air, Danny the other side of him with his gun raised. 

Without hesitating he stormed up to Keahi and grabbed both his hands, pulling them behind his back. Handcuffs were clicked into place around his wrists. “Keahi Akani? You’re under arrest for arson,” he gave their suspect his Miranda rights. 

“Nice job Danno,” Steve looked up. The smile on his face faded when he saw Danny, the gun still in his hand wobbling. His whole body looked close to collapse. “Danny, can you hear me?” Steve wanted to go to him but he still had their arsonist to deal with. “I need you to stay here okay? Just stay here, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Steve pushed Keahi back towards the road hard, almost making him run to get him back to the car quicker. The Camaro wasn’t designed for holding suspects, but Steve had an idea. He pushed Keahi against the door, unlocked the cuffs from one hand, looped the metal around the door handle before locking it back in place around the man’s wrist. He wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. 

As Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket he spotted the mother had slipped out onto her porch. “You!” He pointed to her with one hand and put the phone against his ear with the other. “Back in the house, now!” He ordered. Caught in the act, she hurried back inside and closed the door. 

“Everything okay?” Tani answered. 

“Far from it,” Steve replied as he began walking back towards Danny. “I’ve got Keahi in custody but I need someone to come pick him up ASAP, Danny’s not doing well.”

“Where are you?”

“At the mother’s house.”

“Okay, we’re not far, we’re on our way.”

Steve glanced back at Keahi to make sure he was secure before turning the corner to where Danny had last been. “Oh no.”

“What? What is it?” 

Danny was on the ground unconscious. 

“It’s Danny...I need you to call an ambulance,” he explained as he ran the last few feet and dropped to the floor beside his friend. 

“We’re on it, just hold on.”

With Danny unconscious, there was no-one to stop Steve checking his temperature. The back of his hand pressed against Danny’s sweat-slock forehead and he cursed. “He’s burning up.”

“Can you cool him down?”

“I…” Steve looked around for inspiration. He froze when something occurred to him. “Okay, I have an idea but he’s not going to like this.”

“Doesn’t matter, just get his body temp down...we’re a minute out.” 

With as much care as he could, Steve lifted Danny and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry “Sorry Danno” He apologised even though he knew the other man probably couldn’t hear him. He walked as fast as possible towards the cool seawater not far from the house, breaking out into a run for the last fifty yards. Once at the water's edge, Steve didn’t stop and walked in fully clothed. 

When he was up to his waist he lifted Danny off his shoulder and lowered him carefully into the water, holding his body up to stop him from going under. “Come on Danny,” With one hand he cupped the water and poured it across Danny’s head. “Isn’t that better?” 

It took longer than he liked but soon Danny started responding to the water and Steve’s voice. His brow furrowed in confusion and then eventually his eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

Steve grinned down at Danny in relief. “Good to see you back with us.”

“Why am I in the sea?”

Steve didn’t answer. Looking up he saw flashing lights in the distance and knew help was on its way soon. He dropped his gaze back down to Danny. He still felt hot to the touch but the cool water had worked to bring his body temperature down from dangerous levels. 

Danny groaned. “Shoulda just stayed at home today.”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Ya think?”


	22. Hallucination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #22 Hallucination
> 
> Enjoy! I've had this story idea for a while now so was happy I could squeeze it into Whumptober!

“Come on Buddy, wake up,” Steve groaned. His eyes scrunched shut even tighter. “Now is  _ really _ not the time to sleep,” After a long minute, Steve was finally able to force his eyes to open and it took another minute before his eyes would focus properly. 

Danny came into view, hovering over him with a worried expression. He’d seen that look in Danny’s eyes more than once and knew it meant the situation wasn’t great. 

He was a bit hazy on the actual details. He knew they were in the jungle, the sights and smells all around him clued him into that. But how he’d got there was just nothing more than a fractured memory. He remembered falling and then darkness. He’d been awake before, each time Danny was there like a sentry watching over him, but then he was pulled back under again. 

“Where are we?” Steve croaked. His mouth felt dry and he wondered how long it had been since he’d last drunk something. Dehydration was dangerous, especially out in the middle of nowhere. 

“You tell me Mr I-can-tell-which-way-the-wind-is-blowing-by-the-moss-on-this-rock.”

Steve groaned and dropped his head back into the pile of leaves he’d been using as a pillow. Whatever had happened to him hadn’t been good, the pain pulsing through his body told him that. 

Working his way from top to bottom he catalogued his injuries. He was pretty sure his shoulder was dislocated and would need resetting before they went very far. His head was pounding from a possible concussion. His ribs ached but thankfully he didn’t think any of them were broken. His sore belly gave him cause for concern as there was always the possibility of internal bleeding but there wasn’t much he could do about that in the jungle. It was the long cut on his leg which needed attending to quickly. The more blood he lost the less chance they would have of getting out alive. It would slow him down too. He needed to convince Danny to go without him. 

“Not a chance,” Danny had seen the look on his eyes and knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. “Where you go, I go.”

“I’m just going to slow you down,” Steve argued. 

“Then slow we go,” Danny replied. “The sooner we get moving the sooner we get out of here okay?”

Slowly, Steve nodded “Okay,” Gritting his teeth he used his core to lift himself up into a sitting position. The movement jostled his arm and he gasped. “My arm, definitely dislocated.”

“Just perfect,” Danny grimaced.

“I just need- Looking around, Steve spotted a low branch that would do the trick. He gritted his teeth once more, climbed unsteadily to his feet and limped over to the branch. Finding a small dry twig on the ground by his feet, he picked it up and placed it in his mouth to bite on. Once in position, he wrapped his hand around the branch tightly, steadied himself on the trunk and on the count of three, yanked hard. It wasn’t pleasant but it was quick and dirty. 

Steve bit down hard on the twig, grunting at the shock and agony that course down his arm and across his chest as his arm popped back into its socket with a loud click. 

“I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.” 

Steve spat the twig out and glared back at Danny. “Better in than out,” Whilst his arm was now usable, even the slightest movement hurt from the inflammation and ligament damage he’d suffered. Without a sling, he would just need to keep it tucked in close to his body. 

His leg needed sorting next, as did their need for water. If they could find a river they could hit two birds with one stone. “Water,” he announced. “We need water.”

“And food and a sat phone, and a couple of Longboards, all these things would be great.”

“Danny,” Steve sighed. “You want to get out of here? You got to stop with the snark and actually help me.”

“Fine,” he folded his arms across his chest. “What do you need.”

“We need to go downhill, that’s where water will be, that’s where help should be.”

“Okay, then let’s go” Danny took point, leading a limping Steve down the hill.

It took over an hour but eventually, they found a small stream running downwards. It was only a small trickle but it was enough for them to drink out of. Steve carefully lifted his trouser leg up and away from the wound on his calf and poured small handfuls of water over the cut. Using his good arm, he ripped off one of the sleeves of his shirt and tied it around his leg. It wouldn’t completely stop the bleeding but it would slow it down. 

“How’s your head?” Danny asked, wiping away the drips of water around his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"Been better,” Steve admitted. “Everything’s a little foggy. I don’t remember what happened.”

“Probably best that you don’t,” Danny huffed. “We should probably focus on getting you out of here, we can figure out the rest after we find help.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, still too dazed and in pain to do much else. 

The journey out of the jungle was hard. The muggy warm air and high altitude left Steve feeling breathless. He knew his body temperature was rising too but he couldn’t tell if it was from exertion or infection. Walking downhill with an injured leg was difficult too, especially when he only had one hand to steady himself when climbing down the steeper slopes. His injured body also forced them to stop every half an hour or so for Steve to rest. He hated that he was slowing them both down and hated how badly his body was betraying him. At his usual fitness, the climb down normally wouldn’t take him long at all. 

“Can’t be far now,” Danny did his best to keep Steve’s spirits up. “I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to a hot shower and pizza.”

“I’m sorry Danny.”

Danny stopped midstep and turned to him. “Sorry for what?”

“For getting you into this mess. I don’t exactly remember much from the last few hours but I know enough about myself to know that this was probably my idea.”

“Traipsing through a jungle? Yeah, definitely not one of mine.” 

Steve managed to chuckle and then coughed. His chest spasmed and he coughed again and again, the tickle in his throat and ensuing coughing fit making him wretch. When he pulled his hand away from his mouth he stared at the blood in his palm. 

“Shit,” Danny had noticed. “That’s not good.”

“Okay,” Steve lowered himself onto a nearby rock. “That’s it, you go.”

“What? No!”

“This is not a debate Danny. I won’t be able to get out of this jungle without help. You need to go get that help.”

“What happened to never leave a man behind?”

“This isn’t a warzone Danno,” Steve argued wearily. 

“No it’s not, but I told you we’re doing this together and that’s final,” Danny told him firmly. “You can be the one to tell Grace and Charlie you gave up.”

Steve looked at Danny in dismay, “That’s a low blow.”

“I will always play the kid card if it gets me what I want,” Danny explained, “And what I want is for us both to make it out of this damned jungle before sunset, so can we please get going?”

With a deep steadying breath, Steve lifted himself back up onto two feet. “I can do this.”

Danny grinned, “Never had a doubt in my mind.”

Slowly, even slower than before, they continued to what they hoped was help. Danny had spotted a large stick not long after they set off again and Steve leant heavily on his new walking stick with each step. At one point a rain shower passed over the jungle, the drops of water filtering down through the leaves and leaving them both soaked. Steve shivered and ignored the burning heat of his leg. 

“Steve!”

Steve froze as he heard his name being called. 

“Steve!” It was Junior, he would recognise that voice anywhere. 

“Steve!” A second voice joined in, Tani’s. “Steve, can you hear us?”

“Here!” He shouted back, though his sore chest and exhausted body prevented him from calling as loud as he’d like. “We’re over here!”

“Steve? We’re on our way, don’t move.”

Steve grinned at Danny “See? Knew they’d find us.”

“Sure you did,” Danny replied sarcastically. 

Tani and Junior kept shouting out to him and Steve would respond to help aid them in pinning his location down. A few minutes later, the pair appeared through the thick brush. The looked hot and sweaty like they’d been searching for hours, but both looked bright-eyed and energised still. Steve knew he had to look like death warmed over. 

“Oh God,” Tani exclaimed as her eyes fell on Steve. She pulled a phone off her belt and quickly dialled a number. “This is Tani, we found him, we’re going to need a medivac at out location now.”

Whilst Tani called in for help, Junior had shrugged off the backpack from his shoulders and had dug inside for a bottle of water and the first aid kit. He lifted the uncapped bottle to Steve’s dry lips and let him drink greedily from it. After a second he stopped himself and pushed the bottle away. 

“Give the rest to Danny.”

Junior frowned. “Danny?” He repeated. 

“He might not say anything but he’s just as tired as I am, trust me, that hill was no joke.”

Tani and Junior exchanged glances. 

“Boss?” Tani took a step closer “Where do you think Danny is right now?”

“What are you talking about?” He looked around and found himself getting agitated when he couldn’t see Danny. “He was right here a minute ago, you have to go find him.”

His two protegees looked at him with matching concerned looks. Steve couldn’t understand why they weren’t looking for Danny, he couldn’t have gotten far. He felt a sharp cough building in his lungs once more and he didn’t know how much longer he could stay standing. 

“Please, you’ve got to find him. Maybe he was more injured than he let on.”

“Steve…” Tani began. “Danny’s back at base coordinating the search. You were alone when you jumped out of the plane...remember?” 

Steve blinked. He couldn’t quite figure out what she was telling him. 

“You were blown off course. When you didn’t arrive at the landing zone your skydiving buddy called us, we’ve been searching for you since this morning,” Junior added. 

He frowned. What they were telling him sounded familiar and they had no reason to lie to him. “Danny?”

“Danny’s been worried sick about you,” Tani answered. 

“He’s not here?” They nodded at him. “You sure?” They nodded again. 

“Looks like you hit your head when you landed, we should probably get that checked out asap.” 

Their attention diverted to the thump thump thump of the rescue helicopter coming towards them. 

“It felt real,” he admitted to then quietly. “He was there, he…” He trailed off. He didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Maybe he was imagining his rescue. Were Tani and Junior really standing in front of him?

What he did know was that he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had without Danny. Danny, real or not, had saved his life. 

“Danny’s gonna meet us at the hospital,” Tani promised before they were all raised up into the helicopter. 

Once onboard, he let the medics attend to his injuries, succumbing to the warmth of the morphine entering his bloodstream. Looking out the window as the helicopter turned, he thought he saw a familiar figure standing in a clearing. Short, blue shirt, blonde hair. The figure stood there and watched them fly away. 


	23. Bleeding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #23 Bleeding out
> 
> This is a little bit different, but hopefully, it will make sense as you read it.  
I think it could be considered pre-slash

Danny stood in the doorway to Steve’s room and listened to the regular beeps of his heart monitor. His eyes stung from being open too long, his lower back protested any tiny movement and his head and heart had been battling ever since Steve had been rushed into emergency surgery. It had been his fault and whilst he knew without a doubt that Steve would forgive him, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to forgive himself. 

*****

Danny chased after the gurning after his hand had slipped out of Steve’s. He knew the paramedics were filling in the ER doctors of Steve’s condition but Danny couldn’t hear any of it. All he could hear was his heart thumping in his chest and Steve’s last words to him before he fell unconscious. A nurse pushed him to the edge of the cubicle to keep him out of the way and there was nothing else he could do but stand and watch as they attempted to save Steve’s life. 

“Okay, let’s get him up to surgery now!”

*****

“Please,” Danny pleaded as the two paramedics burst into the room. “He’s already lost too much blood.” The hands pressed into the wound on Steve’s belly were covered in blood. 

As one paramedic placed a mask over Steve’s mouth and a heart monitor on his chest, the other took over from Danny, using the swapping over of hands to survey the damage. He reached into the bag beside him and pulled out a large gauze pad and placed it over the hole in Steve’s belly before pressing down again. 

“What happened?” the first paramedic asked. 

“What the hell does it look like!” Danny answered sharply, his patience for questions low. 

“Heart rate is low, he needs a transfusion like yesterday,” she told her partner. 

“Okay, lets scoop and run.”

*****

Steve blinked slowly at him. The paleness of Steve’s skin scared Danny. He knew it meant that Steve didn’t have enough blood circulating. He couldn’t lose much more. 

“Tell..tell Mary--” Steve tried to speak but his voice was weak. 

“Shhh, this is not your time okay? I need you to know that.” 

“Danno…”

Danny felt his face crumple and moisture formed at the corner of his eyes. 

“I need you to keep fighting, you hear?” Danny felt blood seep through his hands as he put pressure on the wound. There was blood over his shirt and forming a puddle under Steve. Wherever he looked there was blood. “Just keep fighting… I need you okay?”

Steve’s body went limp and Danny’s chest seized up at the sight of him unconscious. Where were those paramedics?

*****

“Steve?” Danny walked into rendition. It was the only place in the palace he hadn’t yet searched. He didn’t know what he would be doing in the room alone but there was nowhere else he could be. 

At first he thought the room was empty but as he turned to leave he noticed shoes and he was taking in the sight of Steve lying against the wall, his hands pressed against his stomach weakly. Steve’s eyes were wide in shock. 

“No, no, no, no,” Danny fell to the ground beside Steve, not caring about his knees landing painfully on the concrete. Steve was trembling and there was so much blood already. He didn’t know how long Steve had been lying there for but he knew he should have been there with Steve. There was a reason they didn’t interview people alone. “Hold on.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket with shaking hands, dialled 911 and tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear. As the operator picked up, he pushed Steve’s hands away and pressed down hard. 

*****

Steve didn’t know how much time had passed. It felt like hours and minutes and seconds all at the same time. The pain was excruciating. He’d always been told that a wound to the stomach was the most painful and he’d certainly had his fair share of agony but this was something else entirely. 

He didn’t know how long it would take for someone to find him. Tani and Junior were out interviewing a suspect, Adam was speaking to Noelani and Danny wouldn’t be back from dropping off Charlie for a while yet. When he didn't return, it would take him a while to realise something was wrong and find it, even longer to find him in rendition. 

Calling for help was out of the question. His phone was currently sitting on his desk where he had left it and there was no way he was standing up and walking out. For the first time in a long time, his chances of survival were slim. This wasn’t how he wanted to go. 

*****

Steve gasped in shock. His eyes looked down at the hand which had just pushed a sharp plastic shiv into his gut. 

“I’m not finished yet,” Simon hissed. “I’m sorry it had to be this way but I need more time. My plan is not complete.” His ramblings didn’t make sense to Steve but that might have had something to do with the burning pain radiating out from his stomach. 

Just as fast as it had been plunged into his body, the man pulled it back out again and Steve choked. His hands slammed against the wound and he buckled over. 

“This is how it has to be...It will all make sense soon.” Simon stared at the piece of plastic in his hand, now covered in blood. “This was not part of the plan… but I had to do it, you understand, I know you do.” 

There was nothing Steve could do. Simon ran out of the room. Steve’s legs buckled and a moment later he collapsed on the cold concrete floor. 

*****

Something was wrong and Steve didn’t know what it was. Shooting an arm across the doorway, he stopped Simon from leaving. 

“Are you sure you’re telling me everything?”

“What would I have to gain from hiding anything from you?” Simon asked but the way he didn’t meet Steve’s eyes as he answered just confirmed Steve’s suspicions. 

“I think it’s best if you stay in here until we’ve cleared you as a suspect”

Simon took in a deep breath. Steve didn’t notice the shiv that slipped out of his sleeve. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

*****

“Sorry about this Mr Ferris” Steve led the man into rendition. “I just need some information about your housemate. Anything you can tell us about him before he was killed might help us find his killer.”

“Please, call me Simon.” Simon Ferris smiled politely. “Ask me whatever you like, I have nothing to hide.”

*****

Steve dropped his dead phone down on top of his desk with a frustrated huff and then lowered himself down into his chair. 

Before he could go in search for a charger the phone on his desk rang. 

“McGarrett.”

“Sir? This is Milo down on security?”

“How can I help?”

“Thought you would want to know that Simon Ferris here, he said you wanted to speak to him?”

“Right.” Steve had completely forgotten about the victim’s flatmate who had promised to stop by after work to answer some questions. 

“I wasn’t sure where was best to put him,” Milo explained. He’d only been on the job for a week so he was still a little nervous, especially when speaking to Steve. “So I put him in rendition, hope that’s okay.”

“Great, I’ll be down in a minute.”

Steve put the phone down. It wasn’t standard protocol to interview people alone but Simon wasn’t a suspect. He was sure he would be done before Danny was back. 

*****

“Danny, you seen my--” Steve’s eyes fell on his cellphone tucked into the corner of the couch in Danny’s office. 

Danny’s eyes followed Steve’s and he winced. “Sorry, Charlie found it. I think he was playing a game on it.” Charlie looked up from his spot on the floor at his name being called. At some point he had abandoned the phone for his toy trucks and there was some kind of traffic jam forming across Danny’s office floor. 

“Been playing with my phone, buddy?” Steve asked. 

Charlie nodded and then shrugged. “But then it went black.”

Stever frowned and reached across to pick up the phone. Pressing the power button did nothing. “He must have drained the battery.”

“Sorry,” Danny apologised again. 

“S’okay, I’ll go stick it on to charge.”

“Hey, you able to hold down the fort for an hour? Rachel’s just called and needs him back earlier than planned.”

“Sure.” Steve reached down and ruffled the child’s blond locks. Charlie giggled at the attention. “Wanna go out for drinks later?”

Danny smiled. “Best idea you’ve had all week.”

Steve smiled back easily. The office was quiet and if it stayed that way he and Danny could head off early to Side Street for a couple of cold beers and maybe some food. “It’s a date.”


	24. Secret Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #24 Secret Injury
> 
> This is a really fluffy chapter - thought I'd done quite a lot of angsty chapters recently! Enjoy

Steve hadn’t invited him round after work, though it wasn’t unusual for Danny to follow him home anyway. Sometimes when the kids were with Rachel he didn’t particularly like going back to a quiet house. Steve seemed to understand that, though never mentioned anything, and Danny would park up next to Steve’s car and follow him into the house. 

Steve looked back in his direction when he climbed out of the Camaro but didn’t express any surprise that Danny was there. Instead, he walked slowly up to the front door, opened it and waited. Danny quickly caught up and pushed past Steve to enter the house. 

It had been a long time since he had felt like a guest in Steve’s house. After living there briefly and visiting the property at least once a week, it felt more like a second home to him. He knew where everything was in the cupboards, there were a set of spare clothes in a cupboard and Steve stocked Danny’s favourite coffee brand just for him. 

Danny heard the front door close behind him as he strode into the kitchen, not surprised when Steve didn’t follow. He listened as the TV was switched on followed by the stutter of voices and music as he flicked through the channels. A moment later Danny could hear the familiar sounds of a football game replay which Steve had chosen to watch. 

Whilst in the kitchen, he dug into the fridge and looped his fingers around the fresh six-pack of longboards that he knew would be there. He tucked it under his other arm and then opened the freezer door. It took him a moment to find what he was looking for under the leftovers and meat but wrapped his fingers around the item at the back and yanked it out. 

Returning to the living room, he saw Steve sat on the couch, the remote resting on his lap and a dozing Eddie pressed along his left side. Silently, Danny moved towards the pair and lowered himself down on the coffee table opposite Steve. 

Steve raised a questioning eyebrow at him and then noticed what he had in his hand. 

“How did you know?”

“How did I know?” Danny parrotted. He tapped Steve’s calf and waited for Steve to lift his leg and rest it across Danny’s knees. “Because I know _you,_” he answered simply. “You might still have an air of mystery for other members of the team Steve, but I can read you like an open book. There's nothing I don't know about you, nothing you can hide from me,” As he spoke, he rolled up Steve’s trouser leg and slid off his sock. The ankle he had seen Steve land funny on during a foot chase earlier that day was swollen and red. How he’d been walking normally and pretending nothing was wrong, Danny would never know. 

With a care he usually reserved for his children, he examined the damage. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Steve wince when he pressed too hard and he instantly eased off. 

“I don’t think it’s broken,” he decided. 

“Thanks, Doctor Williams.” 

“But you should definitely keep it elevated and iced,” Danny ordered, finally reaching over to retrieve the gel ice pack he’d collected from the freezer. He lowered it over Steve’s ankle, curling it around and holding it in place. As the ice-cold pace touched his skin Steve hissed but he soon got used to it and relaxed back against the couch cushions. 

“You don’t have to hide a sprained ankle from us y’know,” Danny told him softly. “We won’t think any less of tough, strong McGarrett.”

Steve’s eyes flicked up and met Danny’s. “Thanks...for looking after me.”

“This is what we do right? Look after each other?” Danny responded, realising too late that he had just voiced the thing they had silently agreed not to talk about. The thing between them that they had been dancing around and purposefully ignoring for most of a decade. 

Slowly, Steve pulled himself up until he was sitting up straight. Watching Danny carefully for a reaction, he reached over and placed his hand over Danny’s. 

Danny looked down at the hand on his. It felt strange to have the cold seeping into his skin underneath and the heat of Steve’s hand on top. After a moment he looked back up at Steve and was almost overwhelmed by the intense look in Steve’s eyes. 

It was awkward, what with Steve’s foot resting on Danny’s lap, but the pair found themselves leaning in towards each other. 

With just a couple of inches between them, Steve stopped moving. His eyes searched Danny’s for reassurance that he wanted it as much as Steve did. 

“We can stop, pretend this never happened,” Steve offered reluctantly. 

“And go back to the way things were?” Danny added. “Do you want that?” His other hand had already slipped up Steve’s leg and was resting above his knee. 

Steve thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “Do you?”

“I don’t want to pretend anymore,” Danny confessed. 

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Danny repeated. Steve still didn’t move. “You going to kiss me then?”

Steve’s eyes sparkled and his mouth quirked. “You think you know me so well, you tell me.”

“Oh for crying out loud,” Danny exclaimed in frustration. 

His hands lifted away from Steve’s leg and cupped both sides of his face. With a gentle tug, Steve began to close the distance between them, not stopping until the inches between them had disappeared and their lips met. Danny used his hands to hold Steve in place, revelling in the warm lips against his own. 

The kiss stayed soft and slow as they tested the waters they had just entered together. Even when their confidence grew and they both deepened the kiss, they kept it from getting too heated. There was plenty of time for that later on.

It was a bit cliche, Danny thought, to say that everything else faded away as soon as they came together, but the noise from the sports on TV disappeared into the background and the ice pack dropped onto the floor forgotten. That's what happened when you finally got what you wanted. 

When the awkward position started to cause issues, Steve encouraged Danny to move over to the couch. Danny slotted against Steve like they were matching puzzle pieces and continuing kissing him without skipping a beat.

Eventually, the need for air became too great. They reluctantly pulled apart and breathed heavily into the small space between them. 

After a long moment, Danny tilted his head back enough to be able to meet Steve’s gaze. 

“That was-

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. 

“We should-

“Definitely.”

Danny grinned. “Pizza?”

Steve grinned back. Because he could, he smacked his lips against Danny’s, “You read my mind.”


	25. Fist Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #25 Fist Fight
> 
> Sorry it's a bit late!

Danny strode into the 5-0 headquarters with a relaxed gait, his hands in his pockets and an easy smile on his face. It was late in the day, late enough for the sun to be setting and whilst he’d spent the day having a fun father/daughter day with Grace, the rest of the team had been busy with a case. 

Thanks to school being out for the summer and Rachel stuck visiting family in England for a few days, Steve had graciously given him the week off to look after the kids and he had big plans. He’d only stopped by the office to pick up a few things from his office before picking Charlie up from a friend’s. Grace was old enough to be left at home, her nose pressed against her cellphone screen the whole time. 

As he pushed through the heavy glass door and enter the main area, he was surprised to find most of the team huddled around the computer table. According to the regular updates Steve had sent him, the team had found their killer an hour ago so he couldn’t figure out why they would still be investigating. Whatever they were watching on the screen was interesting enough that none of them had noticed Danny walk up to them. 

“Ooof,” Tani winced. 

“That had to hurt,” Lou agreed with a shake of his head. 

“There!” Tani pointed at the screen “Now that was badass.”

“And that’s why you don’t mess with a Navy SEAL,” Junior grinned, unable to disguise his pride. 

As Danny got close, he was able to see what it was they were watching. It looked like CCTV footage from down in the Iolani Palace reception area. The video wasn’t the clearest but he could make out Steve locked in a fistfight with an unknown assailant. Danny had missed the beginning of the fight so wasn’t sure how it had started but catching the end clued him into how it ended. 

As the footage ended, Tani glanced at Lou, Adam and Junior. “Again?”

Lou thought about it for a second before looking back at Tani with a mischievous smile. “Oh go on then.” 

Danny wondered how many times they’d already watched the footage. Tani tapped a couple of buttons and the video rewound itself and began to play again. It began with the stranger stepping through the metal detector near the door without any problems before pointing upwards and shouting. There was no sound so Danny had no idea what he was saying but it became clear after a few moments that he was pointing at Steve up on the mezzanine. 

As the man continued to shout, Steve’s figure appeared, his hands raised in an attempt to calm the man. In the background, the single security guard was speaking into his radio. Steve motioned for him to stay back. 

The man seemed to get even more irate by the situation and lashed out suddenly. Steve jerked backwards just as quickly to miss the fist in his direction but the man didn’t stop his attack. As scared visitors ran away from the situation Steve fought back against his attacker. Whilst Steve was well trained in hand-hand combat, the other man was no slouch either, leaving the pair were equally matched. Some of the man's jabs landed including a sharp right hook and Danny found it hard to keep watching. Luckily Steve was able to get in a few shots of his own and seemed to have the situation mostly under control. Steve blocked an arm and attempted to twist it around but the man slipped free and kicked his leg up into Steve’s solar plexus. 

Danny held his breath as Steve, winded from the impact couldn’t stop the man from grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and slamming him into a nearby column. He was dealt three punches to the face before Steve was able to refocus and block the fourth. With a sharp knee to the stomach, the man stumbled back, then with some kind of wrestling move Danny had only seen in films, Steve jumped and used his body to slam the man down on the ground.

At that point back up arrived and Steve was assisted in forcing the man onto his front so cuffs could be placed on his wrists. 

“Where is he?” Danny asked. 

The group spun around in surprise, all looking like they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

It was Adam who recovered first and pointed in the direction of the bathroom, “Went to go clean up.”

Danny nodded his thanks and headed in Steve’s direction. 

When he pushed open the door, Steve’s head snapped up. He was standing at the basin, his sleeves rolled up and his shirt unbuttoned. The pale blue shirt was bloodstained from where Steve’s bloody nose had dripped onto it. A clean shirt hung on the toilet door behind him. 

As well as the bloody nose he was sporting, there was a small cut on his temple and a nasty bruise forming under his eye. Beside the sink was an open first aid kit, the contents spread out across the countertop. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Well,” Danny shuffled further into the room and let the door close behind him, “Coming to check on you it seems.”

“No, I mean at the office.”

Danny walked up to Steve, stepping easily into Steve's personal space, “Just wanted to pick up a few things...walked in on the others watching the action replay like it was a Superbowl touchdown...what the hell happened?”

“Brother of our murderer. Wasn’t too happy with us arresting him,” Steve explained. He stayed still as Danny cupped Steve’s cheek and inspected the damage. 

“You took quite the beating,” Danny noted quietly. He reached for some paper towels, wetted them down a bit and then began cleaning away the blood from Steve’s face. 

“I’ve had worse,” Steve shrugged. “Better me than someone else.”

Danny sighed and stopped mid-wipe, “I hate it when you say that.” 

Steve didn’t reply and Danny resumed cleaning up Steve’s face, making sure to be particularly careful around the open cut. Steve’s intense eyes bored into Danny’s and his breath was warm against Danny’s cheek as they stood just inches apart. 

“Y’know,” Danny began as he binned the dirty towels and picked up a clean one to dry Steve’s skin. “It always amazes me how much trouble you get yourself into."

“I don’t go looking for it,” Steve defended himself. 

Danny chuckled softly, “We both know that’s not true. Do I have to remind you how you ended up in prison for murdering the Governor?”

“I was framed,” Steve reminded him. Like Danny needed reminding. 

Once Danny was done, he held Steve’s face in both hands and forced his head back. “I don’t think your nose is broken,” he announced. Angling his head back down, he twisted Steve’s head to the side to get a better look at the cut. “Just a couple of steri-strips for that.” 

There was something about the way Steve just let Danny move him around without argument that left a warm feeling in his stomach. The ultimate trust in Danny was something he never wanted to take advantage of. Steve had opened up a side of himself to Danny that no-one else got to see and Danny had found himself doing the same in return. 

Steve waited patiently for Danny to finish placing the steri-strips and then examined the results in the mirror. 

“Thanks,” He prodded the skin around the wound and Danny swatted his hand away. 

“Shouldn’t scar...your handsome face will remain unmarked.”

Steve’s eyes met his in the reflection and Danny felt himself heating up. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He was surprised when Steve just smiled back at him. 

Reluctantly they tore their eyes away from each other. Danny cleared his throat and washed his hands as Steve went to retrieve his clean shirt. 

After cleaning and drying his hands, Danny walked back over to the door. “I should- he motioned to the door with his thumb. “Grace’ll be wondering where I am.”

Steve nodded, “Guess I’ll see you in a week then.”

Danny didn’t like the sound of that, “You wanna come round tonight?”

“You sure?”

Danny nodded “You’re always welcome, you know that.”

“Okay,” Steve grinned. “I’ll be round once I’m finished up here.”

Turning to leave, Danny hesitated at the door for a moment. He couldn’t put his finger on what was going on, but there had definitely been a moment between him and Steve. One that he didn’t want to ignore. After making the impulsive decision, he turned back to face Steve.

“If you want...you could bring an overnight bag.” 

His heart pounded in his chest so loudly after making the offer he was sure Steve could hear it. 

Steve knew immediately what Danny was suggesting and his eyebrows rose into his hairline. “You sure?” He asked again. 

Danny nodded, “You in?”

Steve beamed back at him, the expression on his face almost overwhelming Danny. “Yeah, I’m in.”


	26. Abandoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #26 Abandoned
> 
> This weekend has kind of gotten away from me, trying to catch up as quickly as possible!

The Camaro pulled up to the abandoned house twenty minutes after getting the call. Climbing out of the car, Steve glanced up at the tall structure and then at Duke who was walking towards them. 

“You sure he’s in there?” Steve asked skeptically. 

Duke nodded. “Our witness said he ran in covered in blood just under an hour ago and hasn’t been since.”

“Okay, me and Danny’ll take point. I need you and your men to cover all the exits and make sure he doesn’t escape.”

“I’ll radio when they’re in position,” Duke told him and then walked back to his squad car. 

As Steve was talking to Duke, Danny had fished out their vests from the trunk. Pulling on his vest was second nature to him and the velcro straps secured it tight against his chest. He hooked Steve’s vest over his arm and strolled over to join Steve. 

“Thanks.” Steve took the offered vest and lifted it over his head. Once in place, the pair prepared their weapons and then waited for all the go-ahead from Duke. 

At the entrance to the house, Danny stood just behind Steve, his gun in his hand, his trigger finger resting against the metal barrel. 

_ “All in place, ready when you are Commander,” _ Duke radioed through to their earpieces. Danny tapped Steve on the shoulder. He was ready too. 

Steve raised his weapon. “On the count of three...one, two, three!” On three, Steve kicked the front door open and pushed through the open doorway, Danny right behind him. 

They worked their way efficiently through the ground floor, each taking a side of the house and clearing each room they encountered. Meeting back at the stairs, Steve took point again and began climbing the steps. Danny brought up the rear, following Steve’s footsteps upwards. 

The place looked like it hadn’t been lived in for years with most of the pain cracked or peeling. Some of the windows had been completely shattered and nature had started encroaching on the structure. There was mould and moss growing on the walls from the damp as well as a steady dripping sound from leaking pipes. Steve was surprised the building was still standing and started to wonder if it was safe for them to be in. 

At the top of the stairs, there was a long corridor which went in both directions. The condition of the second floor was even worse than the first with missing floorboards, wires hanging from the ceiling and a stale smell that Danny knew would permeate his clothes. 

Steve checked down both ends of the corridor to confirm they were empty and then signalled for Danny to go left. He listened to Danny’s footsteps as they disappeared down the hallway as he turned right and then right again into the first room. The room was devoid of any soft furnishings, the bare wooden floor covered in shards of glass and a thick layer of dust. 

He walked back out again and slipped into the next room. The room was also bare apart from the tree branch from was growing through the open window. It looked like a good escape route and he crossed over to check out the window. Seeing a uniformed officer outside near the tree satisfied Steve that their suspect hadn’t climbed the tree and he turned back to leave the room. 

The third room along the hallway was the largest he’d been in so far. It had to be the master bedroom, or what was left of it. Broken furniture lined the room and there was the beginnings of a hole in the middle of the floor. As he stepped further into the room the floor creaked and bowed under his weight and he froze on the spot. Not wanting to risk going any further into the room, he stayed where he was and pivoted on the spot. 

He heard the screeching sound of a cupboard door opening a second too late. Steve spun around just in time for their suspect to launch himself in Steve’s direction. His whole body slammed into Steve, knocking him off balance. There was nothing Steve could do but brace himself as the pair landed heavily on the floor. A split second later there was a groaning sound before the floor underneath them gave way. 

Steve’s stomach lurched at the sudden drop and then pain spread through his body as he landed heavily on the floor below. The weight of the pair landing on the floor was too much for the old house and the ground floor also gave way, dropping them into the basement below. 

Steve gasped out as the landing knocked the breath of his lungs. He’d hit his head a couple of times on the way down too and it felt like the room was spinning. It was dark down in the basement, the only light coming from the hole above him. 

He didn’t know where their suspect had landed but he knew better than to start moving around, not after falling two stories and landing on his back. He also didn’t know what other damage he’d done to himself in the fall. It was hard to tell when everything hurt. It took him a moment to get his breath back and another moment to overcome the pain enough to raise his hand to his radio. 

“Da--” he coughed. The thick dust that had been kicked up was starting to settle over Steve, leaving him with a tickle in his throat and an urgent need to hack up the dust he was breathing in. “Da...nny,” he tried again.

“Steve? What the hell happened? I heard a noise.”

“Fell,” Steve answered. He licked his lips and tasted copper. He must have bit his lip when he landed. “Hurt.”

“Hold on, I’m coming.” 

Steve couldn’t stop his eyes from sliding shut. They felt too heavy to keep open and the need to rest grew but he forced them open when he heard Danny’s voice from above. 

Danny was leaning over the edge of the jagged hole above him. “Shit, don’t move!” His head disappeared and then Steve heard the sounds of footsteps to his left. He also heard Danny speaking on his radio. 

“Duke, Steve’s hurt, I need a bus and HFD here five minutes ago,”

Danny scrambled over the pieces of flooring that had fallen with them and fell to Steve’s side. 

“How...bad?” Steve asked. His whole body was trembling from the shock of the incident. 

“Bad,” Danny answered as he wiped away the muck and dust on Steve’s face with his hand. His eyes flicked down his body briefly and then back up again. “Can you feel anything in your left leg?”

“Hurts.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause you’ve got a metal rod sticking out of it,” Danny revealed, unable to look away from the bloody wound and the piece of metal impaling Steve’s calf. He couldn’t tell but it looked like it was pinning Steve to the concrete floor below. They would need rescue equipment to free Steve safely. 

Steve frowned. He heard what Danny had said but it wasn't sinking in. He tried sitting up to see for himself but Danny pushed him back down. “Hey, no, I need you to stay still and just hold on till help arrives, can you do that?”

“Tired,” Steve admitted. 

“No sleeping!” Danny ordered. “You could have a head injury.” 

Steve forced his eyes open and focused as best he could on Danny hovering over him. “Suspect?

Danny looked up and spotted their suspect lying on his side a few feet away. “Hold on,” he told Steve before moving over to check if he was alive or not. Danny didn’t feel anything when he held his fingers against the man’s neck. “He’s gone,” he announced and returned to Steve’s side. 

A moment later Duke and another officer Danny couldn’t remember the name of, entered the basement. 

“Oh God,” Duke exclaimed, taking in the image in front of him. 

Danny glanced back at Duke. “I need to keep him talking, can you clear a route for HFD?”

Duke nodded, his eyes still focused on Steve. He blinked, shook off the shock and got to work, ordering his colleague to start shifting the wood. 

With help speeding in their direction and Duke and his men clearing a path, all Danny had to do was keep Steve talking. It was hard to see his best friend so out of it. Steve was always so sharp and aware of everything at all times. His eyes flitted around the room, unable to fix on anything for any length of time. 

“What happened up there?” Danny asked. 

Steve blinked slowly “Jumped me,” he answered, “floor rotten.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not...your fault,” Steve coughed up some more dust as it continued to settle. “Mine.”

Danny didn’t like how weak Steve was getting. “What’s the ETA on HFD?” He called out. 

“Two minutes out,” A uniformed officer responded. 

Two minutes didn’t sound like much but for Steve, it would feel like an eternity. 

“You hear that Steve?” Danny asked gently as he stroked his hair reassuringly. “Just two minutes, I need you to stay awake for another two minutes.”

“Hard,” Steve croaked out. 

“You can do it, Steve, you’re a fighter remember? What’s that phrase you SEAL’s say?”

“Only...only-” Steve’s eyes slid shut. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Danny rubbed Steve’s chest with his fist and Steve’s eyes shot open again. “Only what?” Steve didn’t reply, “Only what Steve?”

“Only..easy...day,” Each word was a struggle for Steve. 

“Only easy day was yesterday right?” Danny finished for him. In the distance, he could hear sirens growing louder and felt something inside him begin to relax. “Can you hear the sirens? You’ll be out of here in no time.” 

“Don’t...go.” 

Danny felt the lump in his throat grow and his hands shook, “Not going anywhere Steve, I promise.”

“O..kay,” Steve’s eyes closed again. Danny rubbed his chest for the second time but this time it didn’t work. 

“Where’s that damn ambulance!” Danny yelled. He looked down at Steve, his vision blurry from the moisture in his eyes. He slid his shaking hand into Steve’s and poured all the strength he could into the grip, “Steve,” he hovered over his friend and whispered, “Hold on...just hold on.” 

The hand in his squeezed back. 


	27. Ransom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #27 Ransom
> 
> Back on schedule! Whoop!

Danny held his children as close as he could with his wrists tied together. Both Charlie and Grace were trembling in fear, tear tracks running down both their faces and their smaller hands grabbing hold of his t-shirt for dear life. 

“Transfer the money, and no-one gets hurt,” The taller of the two masked men demanded. Danny wasn’t fooled by his calm demeanour, he’d already lashed out at Danny once and Danny knew he meant business. 

“I’m not Stan,” Danny insisted for the fourth time. 

It didn’t matter what Danny said. They were on Stan’s boat thanks to the unexpected generosity of his ex-wife’s husband. It had supposed to be him taking the kids out for the afternoon, not Danny. But Stan had been unexpectedly called to Las Vegas at the last minute and the children had been looking forward to the trip so Danny had offered to take them. 

Danny’s last adventure on a boat trip had ended with him and Steve in a sinking dinghy, a shark encounter and being arrested by the coastguard. He had hoped that by not invited his trouble-magnet best friend that the day would go off without a hitch. How wrong he was. 

“Stop stalling,” The shorter, pudgier of their two captors spat as he waved his gun at them, “If you don’t transfer one million dollars in the next few minutes, I’m gonna take it out on one of your kids.”

The threat sent a chill down Danny’s spine. No-one threatened his kids and got away with it. 

“For the last time, I am not Stan Edwards, Stan is married to my ex-wife, my name is Daniel Williams.”

Lanky narrowed his eyes at Danny. “Prove it.”

“How the hell am I supposed to prove it? I didn’t exactly need bring ID on a boat trip.”

He retrieved Danny’s phone from his back pocket and held it towards Danny. “Call your wife, she can transfer the money, I’m sure she would do anything for her angels, right?”

“Ex wife,” Danny muttered as he took the phone between his tied hands. 

“Put it on speaker, I don’t want you to think you can pull a fast one on us.”

Danny showed them the screen as he scrolled down to Rachel’s number and dialled, placing the call on speaker moments before Rachel picked up. 

“Danny?” Rachel said immediately. “I’ve been expecting you back hours ago, what’s taking so long?”

Danny sent Lanky and Pudgy a look which said _ I told you so. _

“Rachel, I need you to listen carefully...me and the kids are still on the boat, we’re in trouble.”

“What are you talking about?”

Pudgy grabbed the phone out of Danny’s hands “Here’s the deal lady, you’re gonna transfer one million dollars out of your husband’s account and put it into ours, we’ll send you the account number to transfer it to.”

“Or what?” Rachel asked. 

Pudgy looked up at Danny and smirked as he answered the question, “If the money isn’t in our account in the next hour, one of your kids is going in the water.”

Danny’s face drained.

“Oh my God,” Rachel’s voice shook with fear, “Please don’t hurt them.”

“Hope they can both swim,” Pudgy hung up the phone. 

“You hurt my kids and you’ll regret it,” Danny threatened. “I swear you’ll regret it.”

The pair laughed at him. 

************

Steve looked at the countdown on his watch, he knew they were running out of time. After receiving a panicked call from Rachel, the team had sprung into action. Luckily whoever had taken Danny and the children hostage hadn’t thought to deactivate the boat’s GPS and it was easy to track them down. From what Rachel had told them, he didn't think they knew Danny was a cop either. With no time to spare, Steve had called in a couple of favours and he and Junior were currently heading to Danny’s location in a speedboat. 

Whilst they would be able to get to the location quickly, Steve didn’t want to tip-off the kidnappers too quickly. It meant anchoring the boat far enough away to not be seen and swimming in. Fortunately, that was the kind of thing that both he and Junior were trained in. The setting sun would also help, the low light would give them the element of surprise. 

They only had twenty minutes left before the kidnappers went through with their threat, there wasn’t time to lose. They pulled on their breathing apparatus and dived into the dark water. 

At the stern of the boat, Steve and Junior silently broke the surface of the water and assessed the situation above them. Glancing at his watch again, Steve watched the countdown reach zero. They had run out of time. 

“Time’s up,” Steve heard one of the kidnappers announce. “Your ex-wife has decided her kid's life is worth less than a million dollars it seems.”

“Just give her some more time,” Danny replied. Steve could hear the desperation in his voice. 

“We’ve given her enough time, she hasn’t done what we asked.”

A scream cut through the air and Steve knew it was Grace. 

“No!” Danny yelled. “Take me, just leave her alone, take me, Stop, please!” He begged.

“Danno,” Grace cried out, her voice nearby. She had to be by the edge of the boat. 

Steve realised what was happening and signalled to Junior to go under. He dropped under the surface, hoping the dark water would conceal him as he swam towards Grace’s voice. He felt and heard the splash as Grace was thrown into the water. Within seconds Steve was at her side, holding her under the water. He didn’t know what the kidnappers would do if she broke the surface but he couldn’t risk it. 

For a moment she struggled against him, scared and confused. Unable to speak, Steve had to get creative. He found her shoulder and traced 5-0 on her skin. She quickly settled against him and let him place his regulator in her mouth, giving her much needed oxygen. With his arm around her waist, he pulled her around the other side of the boat and finally brought them to the surface. 

She was crying when she saw it was Steve, a mixture of fear and relief swirling around inside her. Steve could only imagine how she felt. He put a finger against his mouth to let her know she needed to be quiet before pulling a knife from the strap on his ankle to cut the rope that bound her hands together.

“Junior,” Steve whispered to his protege who was floating beside him. “Stay here with Grace,” Junior nodded and took Grace from Steve, letting her lean on him whilst he kept them afloat. 

Steve didn’t look back as he began climbing the small ladder on the side of the boat. Before lifting himself over the top, he checked the coast was clear. Once his feet were on the wooden deck, he crouched down low and took off his oxygen tank and breathing gear as quietly as possible. 

On the other side of the boat, he could hear Danny cursing his kidnappers. Danny had just watched his daughter be pushed over the side of a boat and not resurface. The sooner Steve dealt with the men holding Danny, the sooner he could tell his friend that Grace was alive. He hated that Danny had to think for even a second that she was gone. 

He crept along the deck and finally caught sight of the kidnappers. There were two of them that Steve could see, a tall one and a shorter overweight one. How they’d gotten onto the boat in the first place Steve couldn’t tell but he would definitely be kicking them off. 

Looking over he could see Danny and Charlie on the floor in the corner. Both their hands were tied and both were visibly upset. Danny’s face was red from yelling at the two men. He was holding Charlie close too, like he was hoping that if he held Charlie tight enough he wouldn’t face the same fate as Grace. 

As the two men began arguing about what to do next, Steve slid his knife out once more and grabbed the hilt tightly. With almost silent footsteps, he moved in closer until he was practically on the two kidnappers. Whilst they were still too distracted to notice them, Danny had spotted him. 

Steve lifted up three fingers to Danny, waited for him to nod his understanding before he counted down to one. 

On one, Steve burst into view, pushing the short man in Danny’s direction. 

“Charlie stay down! Eyes closed!” Danny shouted as he launched himself to his feet and wrapped his bound hands around pudgy’s neck. 

Meanwhile, Steve had twisted back around fast to deal with the tall one. He was shocked by Steve’s presence but recovered quickly, aiming his gun at Steve and pulling the trigger. The bullet gouged a path across Steve’s arm and wedged itself in the wall behind him. The scratch barely slowed Steve down as he kicked the gun out of the man’s hands and sliced his hand with the knife. 

Lanky cried out and pulled the hand to his face. Steve used the commotion to push the knife into the man’s gut and then pushed him backwards until he hit the edge of the boat and toppled over. He landed in the water with a loud splash. 

Looking over at Danny, he watched as Danny kept his arm tight around Pudgy’s neck as he kicked his knee in, forcing the man to the ground “I told you you would regret it” Danny growled in his ear. His voice was low and dangerous and reminded Steve that his friend could be just as deadly as he was when threatened. Steve went to Charlie and pulled the scared boy into his arms. Pushing his face into Steve’s neck, he nodded at Danny and walked away as Danny got his revenge. 

Once he was done, Danny came and found Steve, taking Charlie out of his arms and hugging him tightly. 

“Steve...Grace, she-

“She’s alive,” Steve interrupted. 

Danny shook his head in disbelief, “But she...I saw her go under.”

“I got her Danny, I promise, I got there in time, she’s alive.”

Danny’s face crumpled in relief, “She’s alive?”

Steve slung his arm over Danny’s shoulders and pulled him in tight, “Junior’s looking after her...I got her Danny...I got her.”

With one arm holding Charlie tightly against his body, he rested his head against Steve’s shoulder, slid his other arm around Steve’s waist and let the relief wash over him. His body shook as he experienced a myriad of emotions all at once. “Thank you,” he breathed into Steve’s ear. “Just...thank you.”


	28. Beaten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #28 Beaten

“Stop!” Steve yelled across the marina jetty, his gun trained on the man walking towards the boat at the end of the pontoon. In his hand was a briefcase filled with money stolen from a bank across town. “I said stop!” 

The man froze. Lifting his free hand into the air, he slowly turned around. 

Once again, Steve found himself pointing a gun at Aaron Wright. The hacker stared back at him, not the least bit concerned about the gun. “We really going to do this dance again?” He asked. “It’s starting to get embarrassing for you.”

“Drop the briefcase and put your hands on your head,” Steve ordered. 

“Or...you can stand there and watch me leave on this boat.”

“Not gonna happen Wright.”

Aaron sighed and put the briefcase down onto the decking beside his feet. “Did you really think I didn’t plan my exit strategy? Surely you know me better than that.”

“All I see is you, me and a boat you’re not seeing the inside of.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Aaron told him. “‘Cos whilst you were busy chasing your tails with my little distraction earlier, I was just as busy.”

Steve frowned. He was still kicking himself for falling for the fake bomb threat sent to multiple high schools in the downtown area. It had been followed by a complete failure of the traffic light system which had given Aaron the time he needed to rob the bank. Steve had figured out who was behind it pretty quickly and tracked him down to the marina and he wasn’t going to let him get away again. 

“Busy with what?”

“You know your partner really should get a better security system at his house, he may as well have left the front door open for all the good it did.”

A shiver went down Steve’s spine. “What have you done with Danny?”

“Me? Nothing,” Aaron answered. “I'm sure I left him around here somewhere,” he feigned looking around. 

Steve was fed up with his theatrics and took a step closer, “Tell me where he is or I shoot you.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you...you shoot me and you might never find him.”

“Wright!” Steve growled. 

“I would love to tell you I would, but my memory, it’s not what it was,” he tapped his temple and shrugged. “So what’s it going to be McGarrett?” Aaron Wright taunted Steve, the usual sly smirk on his face. “Gonna stop me?... Or are you going to go after your sidekick?”

Steve glared at Wright. “I could just do both.”

“You could,” Aaron agreed “But he doesn’t have that kind of time,” He bent down and picked up his briefcase. “Throw the gun in the water and I’ll tell you where he is right this second.”

Steve knew he was being put between a rock and a hard place. It absolutely killed him to be beaten by the hacker again, but if he didn’t let him go, who knows what would happen to Danny. He narrowed his eyes. “How do I even know you have him?”

“You don’t,” Aaron replied. “But are you willing to risk it?” 

Steve didn’t move. 

Aaron looked down at his watch. “Time’s a ticking Commander, what is it going to be?”

“I will find you,” Steve promised before throwing his gun into the water. It quickly sunk under the pontoon. 

“Yeah yeah,” Aaron waved him off, “You have a particular set of skills, I get it.”

Steve ignored the snark, “Where is my partner” He demanded through gritted teeth. 

“Hmm,” Aaron pretended to think about it for a second. “I remember there was a lot of rope, maybe a boat?... there was definitely a lot of flammable liquids too,” Aaron’s gaze moved to over Steve’s shoulder and Steve’s head twisted around to see what he was looking at. 

Over by the marina entrance was a large workshop which was now on fire, huge plumes of grey smoke rising from the roof. 

Steve didn’t hesitate. He ran as fast as he could back up the jetty and onto the dockside. He didn’t slow down until he reached the large doors, big enough to fit a boat inside that needed restoration. Reaching for one of the handles he tugged hard but the door wouldn’t budge, it was like it was locked from the inside. 

“Danny!” He shouted through the wood. “Danny can you hear me?” There was no answer, just the sound of fire crackling. 

He ran around the side of the building and spotted a window up above that was open. A nearby shipping crate was pushed under the window and he quickly climbed on top and lifted himself up through the small opening. He landed on the mezzanine level of the building and immediately sucked in a lungful of the black smoke. 

He coughed harshly “Danny!” He could barely see anything in the smoke but he was determined to find his friend. Using his hands held out in front of him to search, he moved across the floor. The heat from the fire was overwhelming and he knew there was only so long he would be able to withstand the heat and the smoke for. As minutes past with no sign of Danny, Steve let doubt infiltrate his mind. What if Wright had been lying? What if Danny was at home where he was supposed to be and he was risking his life for nothing?

“Danny?” He called out again. “Danny!” Each time he called out his voice grew weaker. His mouth tasted like ash and his throat was beginning to close up. 

Just when he thought he was alone in the building, he nearly tripped over a pair of legs. Ducking down, he patted his hands up the legs until he found a torso and then a head. In the smoke, he could just about make out Danny’s unconscious face. 

“Danny,” Steve gasped. “Gonna get you out of here,” he clenched his jaw as he lifted Danny’s body over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Realising the window he had climbed through was too high up and too small to get Danny through, he was forced to go down the rickety fire-damaged stairs to the ground floor. He just had to hope he would be able to find a way out and soon. 

Danny’s body weight slowed Steve down but he refused to give up. After an agonisingly slow shuffle across the concrete floor, he made it to the doors. As the flames began to lick closer and closer, he lowered Danny carefully to the ground and searching blindly for the door handle. Eventually, his hand curled around the warm metal handle and he tugged but the door wouldn’t budge from the inside either. He soon discovered by as his hand found a thick chain holding the two handles together. Wright had wanted to make sure one or both of them didn’t get out alive. 

With the doors locked together with a chain, there was only one way back out of the workshop. Lifting Danny back onto his shoulder he started to make his way back to the stairs. Any luck they had left vanished as the stairs collapsed a few moments later. He swore. There was no way out. 

With his eyes swimming, his head pounding and each breath harder than the last, Steve stumbled back over to the door. Danny was once again placed on the floor, but this time Steve dropped down beside him. 

“I’m sorry Danno,” Steve croaked, pressing his forehead against his friends. At least Danny wasn’t awake for it all, Steve thought darkly, He could go painlessly. “I’m sorry,” Steve let the darkness take him. 

***************

Steve’s eyes fluttered open slowly. The first thing his eyes focused on was the square tiles on the ceiling. He’d seen those tiles enough over the years to know he was in the hospital. Looking down the bed, he recognised the figure sat in the chair beside him. 

“Hey,” he tried to say but his mouth was too dry and his throat throbbed. The sound that came out of him was more like a rasp. 

Lou looked up from his book at the noise and smiled at Steve. “Hey brother, how are you feeling?”

Steve lifted his hand, careful of the IV inserted into it and tapped his throat. Lou understood what he was asking and rose up to pour Steve a cup of water. He dropped a straw into the cup and guided it to Steve’s lips. Steve sucked up the ice-cold water greedily, feeling it soothe his throat. 

“Better?” Lou asked. 

Steve nodded “Thanks,” his voice was still scratchy and hoarse but at least he could speak. As his memory of what happened returned to him, his eyes widened and he tried to sit up. 

“Woah” Lou pushed him back down on the bed. “You shouldn’t be trying to get verticle right now, trust me.” 

“Danny-” 

“Is asleep in the bed next to you,” Lou gave a nod to the other side of the room and Steve spun his head round to see Danny, fast asleep, an oxygen mask still over his face. 

“Is he...?”

“He’ll be okay,” Lou answered, dropping back down into his seat. “Inhaled a little bit more smoke than you but he’ll be just fine in a few days, you both will.”

Steve let his head sink back into the pillow, his tense muscles relaxing at the sight of Danny’s chest rising and falling regularly. 

“Wright?”

Lou sighed, “Got away.”

“He beat us,” Steve’s eyes fell shut, “He knew my weakness and he used it against me,” he admitted. “And me and Danny nearly lost our lives because of it.”

“Hey. I’ve known you both a long time now and Danny Williams is not, nor has he ever been your weakness.”

“No?”

“Don’t you get it? You make each other  _ stronger _ ...that’s the only explanation I have for how you two survived in that building until HFD arrived.” 

Steve opened his eyes and looked back over at Danny. It had been a close one, closer than either of them had experienced for a while. He had fought so hard to keep them both alive. 

“You think?”

“I don’t think, I know,” Lou replied confidently. “Aaron Wright might have escaped this time, he might have won this round, but there’s a team of seriously pissed off cops with immunity and means who are on his tail.”

Steve managed a weak smile. He pictured Wright walking casually to the boat and climbing on board, looking smug and thinking he’d won. Little did he know that they were coming for him and they wouldn’t stop until he begged for mercy. 


	29. Numb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #29 Numb
> 
> This one is definitely more angsty whump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, I don't think this is my best but I didn't have a whole lot of time to write this evening. Hopefully will have better for you tomorrow!

Steve held the phone to his ear long after the caller had hung up. It wasn’t until Eddie padded over to him and whined pitifully that he lowered the phone. 

He looked down at Eddie, blinking slowly. The news he had just received had left his mind reeling. Somehow it was like Eddie knew and the dog pushed his nose into Steve’s hand and nudged him. 

He sunk into the couch and pulled Eddie close, bracketing him with his knees as he hugged the dog tightly. Eddie licked his neck and wagged his tail softly against the floor. 

When Eddie started to get restless, Steve reluctantly let him go. He followed Eddie into the kitchen and opened up the back door so he could go run in the yard. It was late and Eddie disappeared into the darkness in seconds. Steve wasn’t worried, Eddie always found his way back. 

Returning to the living room, he lowered himself down onto the edge of the coffee table and picked up his phone once more. Scrolling through the contacts, he realised there was only one person he wanted to speak to and swiped his thumb up the screen until he was back in the D’s. 

He took a deep breath and pressed the dial button next to Danny’s name. 

“Hey, Steve, what's up?”

“I was uh, just wondering what you were doing this evening?”

“I’m just over at Rachel’s actually, why?”

Steve bit his lip. His stomach churned at Danny’s answer and as much as he’d like to feign ignorance, he knew exactly why Danny being at his ex-wife’s house was hard to hear. 

“You know what, doesn’t matter,” he knew the only reason he was getting away with the lie was because Danny couldn’t see his face. 

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” 

“Okay.”

Steve pressed his thumb against the end call button a little too firmly and threw the phone onto the couch. 

*************

Tani and Junior stood at the computer table eager to start the day. Junior kept looking at his watch, his frown deepening with every glance. Tani had her arms folded across her chest and sighed impatiently every now and again.

When Danny strolled in, later than usual after dropping the kids off at school, Tani perked up. 

“Finally, can we start now?”

“What do you mean?”

“This briefing we were told to be here early for? Me and Junes have been waiting for half an hour for someone to show up and how, by the way, did Lou and Adam get out of this?”

Danny blinked at the whirlwind that was Tani Rey, “Okay, first of all, Lou is on vacation with Renee, Adam, as you two well know, drew the short straw and is at that conference in Chicago all week” He answered “and what exactly have you been waiting for?” He looked around “Where’s Steve?”

“Really good question,” Tani shrugged. “His truck’s not parked outside either, we tried calling him but no answer.”

“I’m worried,” Junior admitted. “This isn’t like him.”

Danny frowned, “He rang me last night...something was off but I didn’t know what.”

“What did he want?” Junior asked. 

“To hang...I think?”

“You think?” Tani repeated. 

Junior turned to the computer table and started tapping on the keyboard. 

Tani stepped up beside him to look over his shoulder, “What are you doing?” 

“Tracking his phone.” 

Danny sighed, “I don’t think you’ll find him that way.”

The junior team members ignored him as they waited for the results of the search. 

“Huh, it’s not pinging, he must have his phone turned off.”

Danny gave them an  _ I told you so _ look, “The thing you need to know about Steve is if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be found,” he told them as he began walking back to the door. 

“Where are you going?” Tani called after him. 

Danny stopped and turned back to face them. “Just because Steve doesn’t want to be found, doesn’t mean I don’t know where he might be,” he grinned and walked away. 

***************

Whilst his response to Tani had been confident, it had taken him just over an hour to find Steve. His friend had a few different spots he liked to go to and they were all across town from each other. 

When he pulled into the cemetery car park, he immediately spotted Steve’s truck and sighed. He only came to the cemetery when the issue involved his dad in some way. 

Danny didn’t know what the issue was exactly. John McGarrett’s birthday had been six months ago and the anniversary of his death wasn’t for another two. Parking up, he quickly got out of the car and headed in the direction of John’s grave. As he neared the spot, he could see Steve’s frame sat on the grass, hunched over the rectangle stone which marked his father’s final resting place. 

The closer he got, the more concerned Danny was. There was a blank expression on Steve’s face that he wasn’t used to seeing. 

"Steve?” Danny called across the cemetery softly, not wanting to startle the Navy SEAL. 

Steven didn’t move, didn’t even seem to be aware that Danny had called his name. 

“Steve?” Danny repeated once he was just a few steps away. 

Steve jerked his head up and his dark cold eyes stared back at him. 

Danny felt the cold eyes follow him as he sat down “The kids are worried about you”

“Kids?” Steve finally spoke. 

“Well, Tani and Junior,” Danny grinned. Steve didn’t react and Danny’s concern deepened. “Steve? You’re scaring me babe.”

Steve sighed. “My mom died Danny.”

“Oh Steve,” he reached out and placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m sorry...I’m so sorry.”

“I got the call last night…”

“You should have told me, I would have come, you know that right?”

“I just-” 

Danny didn’t know what to do. He always knew what to do when it came to Steve and it bothered him that Steve had called him last night and he hadn’t pushed Steve to tell him what was wrong. He knew he should have pushed. 

“You were with Rachel.” 

“So?”

Somehow Steve’s eyes darkened even more, “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Steve...Charlie had a check-up yesterday and he got the all-clear, we were just celebrating with pizza.”

“You don’t have to explain.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. “Yet something it feels like I do.”

Steve’s eyes snapped to his sharply, “Let’s not okay? Not right now, please.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Danny's eyes drifting over to watch an older man carry a bunch of flowers to a grave across the grass. 

"I don't even get to say goodbye y'know?"

"Hmm?" Danny returned his attention back to his grieving best friend. 

"Because of her work with the CIA, because according to records she died years ago. I don't get to organise a funeral for her, I don't get anything."

Danny couldn't imagine how he would feel if he couldn't say a proper goodbye to his mother. He also couldn't imagine grieving for his mother's death not once, but twice. Steve had grieved more than anyone should have to. It wasn't fair. 

"Hey, why don't we organise something ourselves? Just a wake with the people that knew her."

Steve nodded "Sounds good," he answered, even though there wasn't any hint of feeling in his voice. 

"Need me to call Mary?" Danny offered. 

"No" Steve shook his head, "That one's on me."

"What can I do?" 

Steve looked down at the hand that was still resting on his arm and then returned his gaze to the plaque in the ground. "You're already doing it" he answered. "Just...don't go, please" 

Danny slid his hand up Steve's arm and along his shoulders. With a small tug, Steve sunk into Danny's embrace. "I'm here babe, I'm not going anywhere"


	30. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #30 Recovery
> 
> This is just like 1800 words of McDanno banter, hope you enjoy!  
Just one more prompt to go!

Danny wedged the phone between his ear and his shoulder and leant back in his chair. “Yeah...the October records…perfect, how soon can you get those sent over?....great, let me know when that’s done okay?” He sat up straight and put the phone back on the hook. 

Thanks to a bullet wound to the side which had thankfully not hit anything major but had unfortunately developed into a nasty infection, Steve was home recovering. The infection had taken it out of him and Danny wasn’t used to seeing Steve so weak. Even walking from his bedroom to the bathroom seemed to exhaust him. It would be a long month before Steve was even close to being fit for duty. A month of Steve testing his patience at every possible opportunity. 

What it all meant for Danny was temporarily running 5-0 whilst also taking care of a man who didn’t understand the meaning of the word rest. 

Slipping his cell from his pocket, he returned to the ongoing message conversation he had with Steve and tapped out a message. 

_ Don’t forget you need to take the pink pill in an hour. _

_ Yes mother. _

_ Don’t sass me, I’ll call my actual mother and she can come and look after you if you really want. _

_ Will she wear a nurse outfit? _

Danny frowned at the message in dismay and dialled Steve’s number. 

“Now did you have to go and say that?” Danny said as soon as Steve picked up. 

“‘Cause I knew you’d call,” Steve answered, “And I’m so bored right now winding you up is the only thing there is to do for fun.”

“Read a book,” Danny suggested, “Watch some TV.”

“_Boring_,” Steve whined, reminding Danny heavily of his teenage daughter. 

It was hard keeping a Navy SEAL from getting bored whilst recovering from a gunshot wound. Especially one whose main hobbies included swimming, running, lying under an old car and shooting people. Steve didn’t exactly like sitting still and he’d been on bed rest for a week now. 

“Tell me about the case.”

“Not happening.”

“Do I have to remind you who’s in charge of the 5-0 Taskforce?”

Danny rolled his eyes, “Only one more time,_ please._”

“Danny, I’m going crazy here, you’ve got to give me something.”

“No, because you and I both know that if you know what we’re investigating, you’ll get invested in it and then I’m the one driving you back to the hospital because you overdid things….again.”

Steve stayed silent and Danny knew he was pouting. 

“Get some rest, take that pink pill and I’ll be by later to bring you dinner,” he said firmly. 

“ _ Fine. _ ”

Yeah, Steve had definitely been spending too much time around Grace. With a shake of his head, he said goodbye and hung up. 

Only a few seconds later his phone buzzed in his hand with a message from Steve. 

_ Pizza? _

“Nice try,” he mumbled to himself as he typed out his reply. 

_Soup._

_ Again? _

_ It’s healthy, what’s your problem? _

_ I’m all souped out. _

Danny heard the sound of his door woosh open and his head lifted to the sight of Tani leaning against the glass. He quickly put the phone to sleep and stuffed it into his pocket, sending himself a mental reminder to reply to Steve later.

“We just got the report back from forensics, want to take a look boss?”

Danny raised an eyebrow at her as he stood up, “Boss?”

“What?” She shrugged, “Technically you are the boss right now.”

“Don’t tell Steve that.”

Tani laughed. “He getting a little stir crazy?”

“A little?” Danny repeated, “My seven year old has more patience than Steve McGarrett.”

Out in the main area, Junior, Lou and Jerry were already ready and waiting at the computer table. 

“What do we have?”

Jerry swiped up and the forensic report appeared on the main screen. “The fingerprints at the scene didn’t match any on records, unfortunately, didn’t get a DNA hit on the blood either.”

“So we have nothing?” Danny questioned. 

“Not nothing,” Jerry insisted. After a few more taps and a swipe, more information appeared in front of them. “The footprint that was found outside the window was a size eleven shoe, it had a distinctive pattern too which has been traced back to a limited-edition sneaker release. Only a hundred pairs were ever sold in Honolulu.”

“So that means our suspect list has narrowed down to a hundred people? That’s not so bad.”

“It’s a start,” Jerry shrugged. 

“Good work...okay, let's try and narrow the list down even further, Tani, Junior, split the list between you and run background checks on all of them, flag anyone with a record” The pair nodded. “Lou, I want you to go back and interview the maid again, I think there’s something she’s not telling us.”

“You got it,” Lou replied. 

“And Jerry, we should be getting the phone records through in the next hour or so, I want you to dig through that and see if there’s anything useful.”

Jerry gave Danny a salute. 

“I’m going to go see Noelani, see if she has anything for us yet, call if you guys find anything” The team separated and Danny ducked into his office to retrieve his car keys. 

When he walked into Noelani’s office twenty minutes later she was on the phone. She looked up, acknowledging his arrival. There was a nervous look in her eyes that had Danny narrowing his eyes back at her. “

“I’m really not sure I should-......I realise that….No, I know…It’s just...” 

Something about Noelani’s shifty expression that gave Danny an inkling as to who was on the other end of the line. He circled the desk and peered down at the number on the screen. He knew that number well. 

He held his hand out towards her, “Hand it over.”

Noelani hesitated for a second before placing the phone in his open palm. 

“Stop it,  _ please, _ ” Danny said as soon as he had placed the phone to his ear. “Will it kill you to take it easy?”

“Nearly being killed got me into this mess in the first place,” Steve reminded him grumpily. 

“Please don’t remind me.”

“I was only after a few details about the case,” Steve argued. 

“And you thought you’d try Noelani after I explicitly told you no?”

“Not my boss,” Steve reminded him again, “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“No, but the Governor is, she  _ can _ tell you what to do.”

“You  _ wouldn’t. _ ”

“Try me.”

Steve huffed down the phone, “Not fair.”

“Life’s not fair babe,” Danny replied before hanging up the phone. 

“Thanks,” Noelani smiled at him, “It can be hard to say no to him sometimes.”

“Really? I say no to him all the time.”

Noelani chuckled, “Yes, well you’re  _ you _ , you can get away with it.”

Danny grinned back at her as they walked into the morgue, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

After being briefed by Noelani, Danny headed back the palace, stopping at a nearby coffee shop on the way for a much-needed dose of caffeine. He walked into the office with the cup up to his mouth, reached his door and then froze. Slowly, he turned around and looked across the main area where the computer table had been just an hour ago. 

“I’m actually going to kill him,” he muttered and immediately turned back around. 

When he walked into Steve’s house fifteen minutes later, Steve was lying across the couch, a blanket across his lap and a mug of green tea gripped in his hand, whilst Jerry was stood at the computer table which had replaced the coffee table in the middle of the living room. 

“I have to tell you,” Danny began, announcing his presence, “I’m equal parts pissed off at you and impressed. How the hell did you get that thing in here?”

Steve twisted his head around and met Danny's eyes, “Junior and Tani helped.”

“Of course they did,” Danny sighed. He could feel a headache coming on. 

“Look, if I couldn’t go work the case then the case had to come to me,” Steve explained. 

“Do you understand the definition of  _ rest _ ?” Danny dropped down onto the leather chair which had been pushed back from its usual spot. “Rest, recuperation, recovery, rehabilitation, do any of these words sound familiar to you at all?”

“What are you, a walking dictionary?”

“ _ Steve.” _

Steve sucked in a deep breath. “Hey Jerry, could you give me and Danny a moment?”

“Sure, I need to go back to the office and pick up a few more items anyway.” 

“I really don’t get what your problem is,” Steve announced as soon as Jerry had closed the front door behind him. “I’ve not moved from this couch and last time I checked it was a bullet to the side I’m recovering from, my mind still works fine.”

Danny snorted, “That’s debatable.”

Steve frowned at him. 

“Look, Steve...I get that you don’t like being stuck here, especially having to be here alone all day, but the more you push yourself, the longer your recovery will be. That’s why I’ve been feeding you soup and making you rest and reminding you to take your pills, I’m doing everything I can to get you back to your usual fitness levels as soon as humanly possible.”

Steve looked back at Danny with a guilty expression. “I’m sorry Danno, this isn’t easy for me,” He admitted. “Feeling so weak and tired all the time, I just needed something to focus on.”

Danny stood up, walked across to the couch and sat down beside Steve, “Okay, new deal.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, “I’m listening.”

“I will keep you in the loop of any cases if you take a mid-afternoon nap and stop complaining about the soup.”

“Deal,” Steve grinned. 

“But the computer table has to go back and you will not try and needle information out of any other members of the team.”

“Scout’s honour,” Steve held up his fingers in a salute. 

“You weren’t a scout,” Danny shook his head. 

“I could have been a scout,” Steve pouted. 

“Sure, whatever you say.”

Steve just smirked and took a sip of his lukewarm tea. 

“I should get back to the office, I need to berate  _ your _ team for enabling your bad behaviour and get an update on the case."

Danny stood up and walked over to the door. 

“Hey Danny?”

Danny looked back at Steve. 

“We’re gonna resume the other thing soon right?”

Danny smirked, “What other thing?” He replied obtusely. 

“You know what I mean,” He pointed up at his bedroom.

Danny walked back over to Steve and dropped a kiss to his cheek. “If you behave,” Steve leant towards Danny for more than a chaste press of lips to his cheek but Danny stepped away. 

“You’re killing me here,” Steve groaned. 

“Nah,” Danny replied. “You’re very much alive.”


	31. Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #31 Embrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've done it! Didn't think I could!
> 
> Over 50,00 words and 31 prompts later I am finished!
> 
> Thank you to all the amazing comments throughout, they really pushed me on. Sorry I couldn't reply much during the challenge, I'm going to try and go back and respond to as many as I can now. 
> 
> Thanks!

Danny raced into the hospital, his heart in his mouth. It had been hard to let the ambulance go without him. It had been over three hours since he had last seen Steve and the lack of knowledge about his condition was driving him crazy. 

***

_ The sound of neverending gunfire was overwhelming, sharp bangs coming from every angle. _

_ Danny was pinned down behind a shipping container with Lou since the beginning of the firefight. They had only gone to check out the contents of a container they suspected had trafficked weapons only to stumble across a gang of Yakuza bad guys all armed to the teeth. _

_ Pressed against another shipping container, Junior and Tani were doing their best to hold off the Yakuza and Honolulu SWAT had joined the fight not too long ago and between them had the group surrounded. They weren’t losing the battle but they certainly weren’t winning either. The Yakuza were well hidden and protected by the city of metal boxes. They didn’t seem to be running out of ammo anytime soon either thanks to the stash they were protecting. Their clear view across the shipping yard meant that anyone trying to get closer had to step out into a kill zone. _

_ The possibility of being shot didn’t seem to deter Steve though. Danny watched nervously as Steve climbed up two containers hidden slightly behind a taller tower of them, and began crawling along the top unseen. _

_ Danny knew he didn’t have a lot of ammo left, a look from Lou told Danny that he was running low too. Whatever Steve was about to do, he would have to do it soon. _

***

Walking at top speed, he almost collided into the reception desk and he was forced to take in a deep breath before he was able to request information. 

“Steve McGarrett, he was brought in here not too long ago.”

Danny couldn't shake the image in his mind of Steve being pushed into the back of the ambulance. He had looked so still and small with the oxygen mask on his face. 

***

_ Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Steve pop his head up briefly before ducking back down. The gang had yet to notice him but it was only a matter of time. His head jerked back suddenly as a SWAT member stepped out into the open and within the blink of an eye he was lying on the ground. A teammate dragged him to safety and Danny heard through the radio as they called for more backup and an ambulance. _

_ “Steve!” Danny shouted into his radio. “We’re running out of bullets down here!” _

_ “I’m nearly in position,” Steve’s voice crackled through the radio. _

_ Danny tried to conserve bullets. It wasn’t like he could really see what he was shooting at. Meanwhile, the impact of the bullets against the steel reverberated until his ears were ringing. _

_ “Okay, In three”, Steve announced. Danny counted down from three in his head and looked up just as Steve rose to full height. From the ground, Danny couldn’t see what Steve was doing but a moment later he was throwing something in the gang’s direction. Of course, Steve’s favourite weapon of choice, a grenade. _

_ Just moments before the grenade landed and exploded, a single shot rang out. He heard the loud bang, felt the shockwave from the explosion and for a brief moment of relief the guns stopped firing. _

_ When Danny looked up where Steve had been standing, there was no sign of him. _

_ “Steve?” _

_ Danny got no answer. _

_ “Steve, where are you?” _

_ Danny swore. Lou sent him a worried look. _

_ “Junior, go find Steve, I think something’s wrong.” _

_ “Sir, yes, Sir,” Junior responded. _

_ The gunfire from the gang had dropped in volume, Steve’s grenade having done the trick. With a number of Yakuza taken out of the picture, it was easier for SWAT to move in and start picking off more members. _

***

“Are you family?” The woman at the desk queried. 

“I’m listed as his emergency contact” Danny replied, feeling more patience ebb away the longer he was held up. “Please, can you just tell me if he’s okay?”

The receptionist shook her head, “You’ll have to speak to the doctor I’m afraid, if you head up to the ward on the fourth floor, they’ll be able to help.”

“Thanks,” Danny called back as he raced towards the elevator.

***

_ With only a few bullets left in the clip, Danny brought up the rear. Tani and Lou up ahead with the SWAT team. _

_ “Junior?” _

_ “I’ve got him,” Junior replied after a long drawn out silence. “He’s been hit, looks like he fell.” _

_ Danny swore again. “Is he breathing?” _

_ “Only just.” _

_ Looking back at the operation still underway but under control, he made up his mind, “Hold on, I’m on my way.” _

_ Carefully, he crossed the open space, his heart thudding in his chest from the adrenaline. He stayed on high alert, wary of any Yakuza who had managed to slip past SWAT. Once hidden behind the other container, he picked up speed and ran through the yard until he found Junior hunched over a body on the floor. As he got closer he could see blood. Steve wasn’t moving. _

_ “We need an ambulance, now,” Danny said as he dropped to the ground beside Junior. Junior’s hands were pressed against the wound in Steve’s shoulder. _

_ “They’re not going to get this close to the action,” Junior reminded him. “Not until they get the all-clear.” _

_ “We can’t exactly wait.” _

_ “We could move him?” _

_ “After that fall? Danny couldn’t help but glance up and take in the height Steve had fallen from. “He could have damaged his spine, we can’t risk it.” _

_ “Then what?” _

_ Danny sighed and looked down at his unconscious partner “I don’t know.” _

***

The elevator was too slow and Danny let out a frustrated huff as it rose as a snail's pace. Finally, the elevator came to a stop on the fourth floor and Danny burst out before the doors had even fully opened. He stepped straight out into a waiting area, a nurses desk and patient rooms were down the end of the hall. 

Danny dreaded to see what state Steve was in, he could only imagine the worst as a vision of Steve hooked up to wires and a ventilator filled his head. 

As he headed towards the nurses' station to get Steve’s room number, his eyes spotted a familiar name scrawled on a whiteboard outside one of the rooms. Bracing himself, he turned the door handle and stepped inside. 

***

_ “The sooner we finish things, the sooner we can get some paramedics over here,” Danny told Junior. They could still hear guns going off close to their location, though the noise was becoming more and more sporadic, there had to only be a couple more gang members left. “You go, help Lou and Tani, I’ll stay here with Steve” _

_ Junior gave him a sharp nod, took one more look at Steve and then ran off, gun in hand. _

_ Danny took over from Junior immediately, placing his hands down firmly on the bloody wound. “That was really stupid you know” He spoke even though he knew Steve couldn’t hear him. “If you were awake right now I know you’d be telling me that it worked so what do I have to complain about?” He huffed out a hollow laugh. “Well it didn’t work because once again you’re hurt...you’ve really got to stop doing this to me okay? My heart can’t take it much longer.” _

_ It took him a couple of minutes to realise the shooting had stopped. _

_ “Is it over?” Danny asked into his radio. _

_ “Oh it’s over aright” Lou replied. “Dead Yakuza everywhere...this is going to be one hell of a cleanup operation.” _

_ “Then can someone go get the paramedics over here...like now!” _

_ “On it!” Tani called back. _

_ Danny watched the seconds tick past on his watch waiting for Tani to arrive with the paramedics. It wasn’t until they arrived that Danny realised he’d been holding his breath. _

_ “Help him, please,” he begged as the took over. He stood over them, his hands covered in Steve’s blood as they quickly stabilised him. _

_ He followed alongside the gurney as they took him to the ambulance. He hated seeing Steve on a gurney, he hated how often he found himself on one. _

_ “You coming?” One of the paramedics asked as soon as Steve was loaded in the back. Danny wanted to say yes but he knew there was still a lot to do at the scene. With Steve out of action, it was up to Danny to finish things. _

_ He gritted his teeth “Go” _

_ The ambulance door shut and Danny stayed rooted to the spot until the ambulance was out of sight. _

***

Stepping into the room, Danny froze. He wasn’t expecting to find Steve sat on the side of the bed, his eyes alert and staring back at him. He sat in just his trousers, his shirt was nowhere to be found and there was a piece of gauze taped to his shoulder where the bullet had entered. 

Danny didn’t know what to say. 

“Danny? You okay?”

“Am I okay?” He replied, “I’m not the one who got shot and then fell like forty feet.”

“It wasn’t even twenty,” Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, it was high” Danny argued, “How are you sitting up right now?”

“I got the all-clear already” Steve explained. “They rushed me straight up to get an MRI and the wound was a through and through without much damage.”

“So you’re okay?”

Steve nodded “I’m okay...well the wound stings like a bitch and _everything_ hurts right now but I’ll be as good as new in a couple of weeks.”

Danny blinked. “I-

“Danno?”

Danny stepped closer to the bed. “I thought...you were...when you were lying there...” He felt his throat begin to close up and meeting Steve’s eyes was the hardest thing he’d done in a long time. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

Steve looked back at him for a long moment before he spoke, “C’mere.” 

Danny did as he was told and took the final few steps to stand between Steve’s legs. Steve’s good arm slid around Danny’s shoulder and pulled him in tightly, his other resting gently on Danny’s hip. 

Danny’s arms snaked around Steve’s naked waist and he couldn’t help but hold on tightly. His face pressed into Steve’s neck, his lips pressed against warm skin as he breathed in Steve’s unique scent. If the bullet had hit in a different place, if Steve had landed differently or fallen from a different height, who knew what could have happened?

Instead, Danny got to embrace his best friend. Except, he realised as Steve’s thumb gently stroked the hair at the name of his neck. This wasn’t how friends hugged. Instead of panicking at the new development, his eyes slid shut. There was plenty of time to over analyse his and Steve’s relationship in the morning. In that moment, he just wanted to hold on tight and feel Steve’s pulse thumping strongly under his skin. Whatever happened next, Danny knew they would be okay. It was Steve who tightened his grip and refused to let go. 


End file.
